General News of Sunday, 15 October 2023

Source: bbc.com

'It was my first time in a bunker' - Ghanaian in Isreal recounts Hamas attacks

Seth Cudjoe went to Israel for school and got married Seth Cudjoe went to Israel for school and got married

A Ghanaian man living in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv has described attending a “memory day” for the victims of Hamas' attack on Saturday.

Seth Cudjoe, a professional living in the suburb of Yehuda, said people in his neighbourhood lit candles in the shape of the Star of David on Thursday.

“They were led by Rabbis who told them to pray,” said Mr Cudjoe.

Many children joined the vigil with “colourful songs and dance, in remembrance of all those who lost their lives” during the attack, he said.

Mr Cudjoe, an irrigation technician living in Israel with his wife and a four-month-old daughter, recalled the “terrifying moment” the sirens went off on Saturday.

“I was scared because it was my first time in a bunker,” says Mr Cudjoe, who in the early hours of Saturday sought shelter with his family as sirens went off.

“You could hear the sound of rockets being intercepted by the Iron Dome,” remembers Mr Cudjoe, “but when there was a blast you could feel the vibrations”.

Palestinian militants killed more than 1,300 people in Israel at the weekend and kidnapped at least 150.

More than 1,500 people have died in Gaza, an area in the Palestinian territories, since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes.