Natalie Sanandaji, an American lady who escaped Hamas’ attack on an Israeli track competition October 7, recounted her harrowing revel in to Fox Information Virtual and went on to mention that even if she’s again in america now, she does no longer really feel protected seeing how simply “brainwashing” on social media is fueling antisemitism and anti-Israel demonstrations.
Sanandaji, a 28-year-old Jewish New Yorker born to Israeli and Iranian folks, mentioned that rising up, she by no means understood how other folks may permit the Holocaust to occur, till she narrowly escaped Hamas’ fatal attack firsthand and individually learned that a few of her fellow competition attendees hadn’t made it out alive, after which noticed the antisemitic messaging that adopted.
“A large number of other folks inquire from me if I believe protected now that I am again in New York. I do not,” Sanandaji mentioned. “A large number of the issues I have been listening to and seeing since getting again. A large number of the movies of the protests. Those pro-Palestinian protests. One thing I want to say about this is, no matter aspect you are on regarding the Israeli-Palestinian battle, the entire energy to you. However this isn’t about Israel-Palestine. That is about Hamas, a 15 May Organization who is solely as complicit within the deaths of those blameless Palestinians as they’re within the deaths of blameless Israelis.”
“Other people want to keep in mind that this isn’t about Israel vs. Palestine,” she reiterated. “That is a few 15 May Organization attacking the Jews and killing blameless other folks, killing blameless other folks at a track competition, killing blameless grandmas who survived the Holocaust, simply to be killed via Hamas, burning small children alive.”
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Natalie Sanandaji shared her revel in escaping Hamas terrorists at an Israeli track competition with Fox Information Virtual whilst again house in New York. (Fox Information Virtual/Danielle Wallace)
“That is not going to save lots of Palestine,” she added. “That is not going to loose Palestine.”
Following the Hamas assault in Israel, there were plenty of demonstrations and incidents world wide
“The quantity of antisemitism I have noticed in movies since coming again to New York, antisemitism in all places Europe and america, that scares me greater than anything else. For goodbye, as a Jew rising up in The usa, you are all the time taught concerning the Holocaust, and you are taught about the best way our other folks had been handled and the best way such a lot of other folks simply stood via and watched because the Holocaust took place. And you are taught to by no means overlook. And my complete lifestyles, I attempted to know the way may – how may the arena stand via? How may the arena stand via and let that occur? And it is unhappy to mention that I am now beginning to understand how. And I do not really feel protected.”
Having visited Israel time and again since she used to be an toddler, Sanandaji mentioned that this time she had traveled for a chum’s wedding ceremony and made up our minds to increase her go back and forth to spend time with circle of relatives over the Jewish vacation.
To wait the competition in Re’im, she mentioned there used to be an intensive vetting procedure, one thing her 3 pals who accompanied her had been already acquainted with as a safety process. But, none of them expected what would observe when they returned to camp round 3 a.m. to get some shuteye ahead of the morning track set, handiest to get up to the sound of a barrage of rockets.
“One of the most women from our campsite got here and woke us as much as tell us that there have been some rockets that had been despatched in our path that have been intercepted via the Iron Dome [missile defense system], that the whole thing used to be tremendous, that it is customary for the world that we are in and that confidently it is going to simply be a couple of, after which the birthday party will proceed,” Sanandaji informed Fox Information Virtual. “I would like other folks to check out to consider anyplace else on the earth the place a competition is happening, happening with such younger children attending, they usually see rockets being intercepted over their heads and their computerized response is, ‘Oh, that is customary on account of the world that we are in. This occurs. It is tremendous.'”
However the sounds of explosions grew extra intense, she recalled, they usually learned that one thing used to be significantly flawed when competition safety close off the track and ordered everybody to their vehicles.
This aerial image presentations deserted and torched automobiles on the web page of the October 7 assault at the Supernova barren region track Pageant via Hamas militants close to Kibbutz Reim within the Negev barren region in southern Israel on October 13, 2023. (JACK GUEZ/AFP by means of Getty Photographs)
“And at this level, we nonetheless did not know that there have been terrorists on foot only a few ft clear of us with weapons,” Sanandaji mentioned. “I requested my pals, ‘Do you guys assume it is k if I’m going to the toilet ahead of we go away? We are going to have an extended power. And they are like, ‘Yeah, it is tremendous. No rush. Cross to the toilet.’ I’m going to the toilet, and a few days in the past I noticed a video that surfaced of the Hamas terrorists coming and taking pictures at the ones precise toilets and simply taking pictures at each and every unmarried stall, simply looking to kill any one who used to be within. And that is the reason one of the vital occasions because the competition took place, the place it in reality hit me how shut I used to be to dying. That I may have been in the ones stalls. If I used to be in the ones stalls only a few moments later, I is probably not right here as of late.”
Sanandaji praised safety body of workers for doing their very best to get competition attendees out, pronouncing that almost all of them misplaced their lives within the procedure. At one level, safety advised everybody get out in their vehicles, as the huge visitors jam used to be an excessive amount of of a goal. Sanandaji mentioned that she and her pals took off operating on foot during the barren region.
“One of the most scariest issues used to be operating in a definite path, pondering that you are operating to protection after which seeing dozens of youngsters from this competition operating to your path and understanding that they are operating from a terrorist, that they are operating from gunshots, and that the path that you have been getting in isn’t taking you to protection,” she mentioned. “You do not know what resolution goes to both save your lifestyles or get you killed.”
Israeli military infantrymen seek the stays of a torched automobile for forensic proof on the web page of the October 7 assault at the Supernova barren region track Pageant via Gaza militants close to Kibbutz Reim within the Negev barren region in southern Israel. (JACK GUEZ/AFP by means of Getty Photographs)
Sanandaji mentioned {that a} staff of other folks inspired her pals to sign up for them in hiding in a ditch, however they declined, fearing that if terrorists had been to reach, they would don’t have any manner out. She later realized that those that stayed there had all been killed.
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For approximately 4 hours, she and her pals endured operating and strolling on and off between the sounds of drawing near gunfire, till in spite of everything coming to a tree for some leisure. Recognizing an drawing near white pick-up truck, they feared the worst and ready to simply accept their destiny.
“In the beginning, we idea it used to be a terrorist coming to kill us. And all of us more or less idea to rise up for a 2d, after which all of us more or less simply checked out every different and learned, ‘The place are we going to run to?’” she mentioned. “So we simply sat back off, and in the end when the automobile were given to us, we noticed that there used to be a woman within the automobile who had the competition bracelet on, and we learned that this used to be any person from town of Patish who left the safety of his the town and drove against the terrorists and risked his personal lifestyles to check out to save lots of our lives.”
Destroyed vehicles and private results are nonetheless left scattered across the Supernova Track Pageant web page, the place loads had been killed, and dozens taken, via Hamas militants close to the border with Gaza, on October 13, 2023 in Kibbutz Re’im, Israel. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Photographs)
They piled into his truck, and the person dropped them off in Patish ahead of in an instant turning round.
“I did not actually have a likelihood to thank him, and he simply went directly again and risked his lifestyles in all places once more,” Sanandaji mentioned.
As soon as in Patish, the citizens there took Sanandaji and her pals in with open palms.
“The folks of this the town in reality got here in combination to lend a hand us and to give protection to us. They put all people within the native bomb safe haven. They introduced us meals. They introduced us water. There have been other folks strolling round studying off an inventory of names from their telephone despatched to them, from folks and friends and family who could not get involved with children that had been on the competition.”
Greater than 200 hostages are estimated to were taken into Gaza via Hamas terrorists.
“Seeking to, like, understand that such a lot of other folks that you simply had been dancing proper subsequent to that you simply had been having the sort of excellent time with . . . you spot all their faces to your head, and then you definately see pictures of them days later on-line, and you understand that they didn’t pop out as fortunate as you probably did,” Sanandaji mentioned. “That that they had both been killed or, worse, kidnaped. And the explanation why I say ‘worse, abducted’ is as a result of such a lot of folks have mentioned that when they came upon that their child used to be killed, they mentioned, ‘Thank God,’ as a result of being abducted via monsters like those and being tortured the best way that they are torturing those youngsters is, truthfully, a worse destiny than being killed via them.”
On October 7, the Palestinian militant staff Hamas introduced a wonder assault on Israel from Gaza via land, sea, and air, killing over 1,300 other folks and wounding round 2,800. Israeli infantrymen and civilians have additionally been taken hostage. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Photographs)
Sanandaji mentioned she had stayed on the Patish safe haven for a number of hours whilst a chum’s uncle used to be suffering to power their manner, as Israeli forces already had been dashing to safe the border. Anyone in Patish agreed to power them to the place her buddy’s uncle used to be, they usually made it again to the place she have been staying. Sanandaji mentioned {that a} buddy who had controlled to fly out to Israel that Sunday had given her an additional Monday price tag to Greece, and he or she had spent hours on the airport – in between emergency journeys to a bomb safe haven – ahead of convincing the airline to permit her to modify the identify at the price tag so she may go away the rustic.
Sanandaji mentioned that being at the aircraft heading to Greece used to be a “very emotional” revel in.
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“I feel that used to be probably the most I had cried since the whole thing that had took place,” she mentioned. “Being in that scenario, you are in a state of outrage there. Everybody reacts to objects in a different way. There have been numerous children crying whilst we had been being shot at. I used to be moreso in a state of outrage. And numerous the sentiments in reality hit me as I used to be on that flight leaving. I used to be leaving numerous friends and family at the back of. Particularly some of the emotional portions used to be leaving pals at the back of who had been within the competition. Who controlled to live to tell the tale that competition after which had been re-enlisting within the military and risking their lives in all places once more to give protection to our nation and to give protection to our other folks.”
“It made me really feel the entire extra helpless. However since leaving and because having these kinds of information stations achieve out to me and inquire from me to percentage my tale, I believe like that is the maximum I will do to check out to lend a hand carry consciousness to what took place, and for other folks to listen to it from any person who used to be in fact there, who witnessed the horror,” she added. “To talk for all those that had been abducted and killed and cannot talk for themselves.”
