Korean eyewitnesses detail Israel-Hamas conflict terror

Korean citizens residing in Israel are on high alert as the Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies following the Palestinian militant Hamas’ attack against Israel on Saturday.

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Korean citizens residing in Israel are on high alert as the Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies following the Palestinian militant Hamas’ attack against Israel on Saturday.

Park Hae-yeong, a Korean living in Beersheba, a city close to the southern region where the assaults began, said that the air raid sirens sounded every two to four minutes Saturday morning as well as the sounds of explosions, during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday

“We took refuge in a safe room inside our house,” Park said.

"I was staying home because it was the last day of Sukkot, the Jewish holiday of Tabernacles. I heard the first air raid sirens around 6:30 a.m. Usually, when there is an attack like a missile, sirens ring and indicate there is an emergency situation. But yesterday, it sounded consecutively across the city, with sirens blaring from all directions in the city.”

Park heard dozens of explosions outside along with missile attack warnings near her house.

“About five seconds before and after the warning, we heard explosions from intercepting missiles. Two of the interceptions took place so close that our house shook. After that, we continued to hear explosions coming from the Gaza Strip area."

Park Hae-yeong, a Korean living in Israel, and her acquaintances evacuate and sit in a shelter in Beersheba after the Palestinian group Hamas initiated a surprise attack against Israel by firing rockets on Saturday. [PARK HAE-YEONG]

Park's family and another family who visited her home on Saturday had to evacuate to a shelter.

"In Israel, panic rooms are mandatory in buildings. When the sirens ring, we usually evacuate within five to 10 seconds. Yesterday, two families were visiting our house for the holiday, but because of the attack, we all stayed in the room together. We sat on chairs and cushions inside the shelter, making sure the children were not scared. We had supplies such as food, gas masks, masks, flashlights, batteries and a radio stored in the shelter," she said.

Park could not even purchase rice on Sunday because the shops were all closed.

"We might have to spend our days cooking the rice we have stored in case of emergency."

According to Park, streets were very quiet as no vehicles and not a single air raid alert was heard on Sunday.

"If it were a normal day, everyone would have returned to their routines coming back from the holiday today, but it is so quiet.”

In the village of Karme Yosef, a 50-minute drive from Gaza, Lee Suk-young, the vice president of a Korean Association in Israel married to an Israeli, said, "Whenever the air raid sirens alarm, we go down to the shelter in our house and then come back up repeatedly."

"I heard that my husband's cousin, who is a soldier, was injured while fighting against the attacks."

According to the Koreans in Israel, the Israeli reserve forces have been called up.

Koreans living in Jerusalem also expressed their feeling of anxiety.

"There was a large-scale missile attack north of Tel Aviv last night, and the sound of bombings and tremors were detected even in buildings where Koreans live," said the former president of the Korean Association Yang Dal-seon.

In the eastern parts of Jerusalem, some are staging protests supporting the attack by the Hamas militants as there are more Arabs than Jews in the area.

Emergency food and supplies such as rice and gas masks are stored in a bomb shelter in Israel. [PARK HAE-YEONG]

"I heard that in some mosques, religious leaders preach that we must participate in demonstrations and armed struggles,” said Yoo Jin-sang, who has been living in Israel for 16 years.

“There haven't been major clashes yet, but embassies and education offices have given safety notices to stay at home."

According to Yoo, schools have been suspended.

“Those at my child’s school gathered on Zoom to check in with each other.”

In a group chat on KakaoTalk for Koreans living in Israel, a torrent of questions were being sent through.

"What's the situation at Tel Aviv airport?" "Has anyone received separate contact from the embassy?"

Some Koreans, who were planning to travel to Israel, inquired about the current situation, and expatriates were looking for people to return to Korea together.

“National carriers still fly in and out of the area but most other flights have been canceled,” Yang said.

BY KIM SEON-MI, MOON SANG-HYEOK [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]