StandWithUs posted a video on Nov. 28 showing an eight-year-old child begging her mother for them to stay in the bomb shelter and not return home.
The child, identified as Ori, tells her mother in Hebrew through tears, “I can’t take it anymore.” Her mother later says that it’s time for them to go home.
“Mom, I don’t like it in the house,” Ori replies. “I want to stay here.”
Ori’s mother assures her that everything is fine and they can’t stay at the shelter for too much longer. Ori responds, “I’m scared. I want to stay here. I want to stay here.”
“This is the nightmare that 8-year-old Ori from southern Israel experiences, every single time a red alert siren goes off,” StandWithUs tweeted. “This is the reality for thousands of innocent children living in complete trauma under rocket terror.”
WATCH: This is the nightmare that 8-year-old Ori from southern Israel experiences, every single time a red alert siren goes off. This is the reality for thousands of innocent children living in complete trauma under rocket terror. pic.twitter.com/I1l7Q5BFOL
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) November 28, 2019
StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein tweeted on Nov. 29, “This is so painful to watch. This is just ONE rocket. Just one red alert. And there have been hundreds this month.”
This is so painful to watch. This is just ONE rocket. Just one red alert. And there have been hundreds this month (November 2019) And besides the little girl expressing this level of trauma, look at the beginning of the footage… look at the little boy shaking from fear. https://t.co/9cLZ4TONIn
— Roz Rothstein (@RozRothstein) November 30, 2019
In March, Israeli writer and activist Shoshana Keats Jaskoll tweeted out a video explaining that Israelis who are under the constant threat of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip have to always be thinking about where the nearest shelter is.
“Even if there’s no rocket at that moment, or there hasn’t been in a week or even a month, it’s with you everywhere you go,” Jaskoll said. “Every decision you make, every step you take, you need to know: where is there a bomb shelter? How do I get my children safe? Can I go here today? Can I drive to this place? Is there a bomb shelter? What’s the amount of time I have from hearing that siren that brings anxiety to getting my children safe? This is how Israelis grow up.”
People minimize the effects of rockets shot into Israeli towns. Because most are shot down, ppl think they do no harm. But that's just not true. An entire generation of Israelis has lived life only knowing 15, 30, or 45 seconds to a bomb shelter. The stress takes a massive toll. pic.twitter.com/FxfjiKNElV
— Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll (@skjask) March 27, 2019
Around 450 rockets were fired from Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip toward Israel on Nov. 12-14; two rockets were fired from Gaza again on Nov. 26.