More survival stories from Israel at Miami International Airport

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A mother with her children from Broward County was on her way back home from Israel to Hollywood on Monday at Miami International Airport.

The bombs from Gaza reached Tel Aviv, and the pain of war tainted her family’s joyful Jewish holiday celebrations. She said her children were in Israel for the first time, so they had never hidden in bunkers before.

An Israeli-American veteran started to sing and dance with a fellow traveler at MIA, and said it all felt like “a dream” since he and his wife had “never experienced these kinds of things.”

The veteran said it brought him back to his days of service with the Israeli defense force, now leading the charge to rescue the hostages.

“I hear sirens. I didn’t know what happened, so I put clothes on. I was shy because I was invited to someone’s home. I put my clothes on very quickly, and then we were on the way to the shelter,” he said.

The Israeli-American man the veteran had been dancing with said he and his family “went into the bunker and there were, you know, bombs coming into Israel.

“The buildings were shaking.”

A senior with his wife said they were all very fortunate to have made it out of Tel Aviv and back to South Florida after the attack that killed hundreds in Israel.

“We got to the airport last night and it was eerie. The roads were quiet. There were security checks on the way to the airport,” he said

Another man who said he was still shaken by the traumatic experience stood in front of reporters to say that the attackers had committed war crimes against Israel.

“Raping women in a war is a war crime; killing innocent children is a war crime,” he said. “They had no reason to do it; there is no humanity whatsoever.”

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