Terrified Israelis are still being rescued alive by police and troops five days after Hamas militants launched a bloody and wide-ranging assault on Israel.
Yesterday a number of victims were found in areas surrounding Gaza that had been raided by Hamas. Police tracked them down using DNA samples and other sources in rescue missions to pluck them to safety. The rescues have been hampered by victims being so terrified by what they have witnessed that they will not come out of their hiding places, even when police identify themselves. In a number of cases, victims were found trembling with fear and hiding in bushes having fled the Nova trance music festival outside Gaza.
After Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Saturday and massacred hundreds of people in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "crush" the group. International aid groups warned that the death toll in Gaza could mount after Israel stopped all deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity to the tiny enclave while its crossing with Egypt is unusable. The war has already claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides.
Police Chief superintendent Ben Hamo (Tim Merry/Mirror)At the 443 Police HQ, near Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s emergency Family Support Centre, Chief Superintendent Tzahi Ben Hamo, told the Mirror: "Thousands of people have passed through this centre looking for information regarding their loved one. The horror of what they have suffered is unimaginable. It is ten times worse, maybe more, than 9-11 and we are trying to reunite people with their loved ones whether they have passed or whether they are still alive."
As Israel pounds Gaza from the air, Hamas fighters have fired thousands of rockets into Israel since their weekend assault. Militants in the territory are also holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel. Hamo continued: "We are using all the technology at our disposal, DNA and other methods through which we can find a person and identify them, even discover if they are alive and need to be rescued. It is very likely that even now there are more people out there who are still alive and need to be rescued by the soldiers as soon as possible. We are having to do this sensitively as you cannot possibly imagine some of the sights these victims have suffered. They saw horrors and acts against humanity and they needed psychological help to get through this traumatic experience."
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Volunteers remove the bodies of killed Hamas militants from outside a police station in Sderot (AFP via Getty Images)Many of those still being rescued have been cut off from the outside world after fleeing the horror of seeing loved ones and friends slaughtered. Their phone batteries have depleted, communications have been cut off and they have felt unable to move out of fear that Hamas may come back.
Police will not reveal where many of the victims were found but said that in one incident as many as 30 people were found hiding at the Ein Haslosha Kibbutz three miles outside Gaza. Superintendent Hamo added: "The police here have trained for years on how to deal with mass casualty situations. But nothing on this scale. It was unimaginable. If anyone is still out there and needs rescuing we will get to them. We will win this."
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