Hamas attack on Israel: Dr Dvir Abramovich’s family caught in barrage

A Jewish-Australian leader has revealed his family has been caught up in the bloody Hamas attack in Israel – two months after his cousin was killed by a terrorist. 

Relatives of Melbourne’s Dr Dvir Abramovich hid in a safe room at Kibbutz Re’im, a secular settlement of 500 families located 1km from Gaza, as 2,500 missile struck Israel on Saturday. 

Among them was Adia Cohen, cousin of Dr Abramovich, an Israeli-Australian writer and civil rights activist, who gave a harrowing account of her survival.

‘Inside, we heard our neighbours screaming for help and the terrorists shooting at people. Six of them [were] murdered, others injured and kidnapped,’ she said.

‘The Hamas gunmen then entered our home, pretending to be Israeli soldiers and asked us to open the door to the safe room. Luckily, we did not.’

Her comments come as terrifying new footage captured the level of destruction left behind by the attack with their neighbour’s home completely reduced to rubble. 

Women walk through the wrecked remains of homes at Kibbutz Re’im, a settlement of 500 families near Gaza

Ms Cohen hid in a safe house and refused to open the door as Hamas militants knocked, pretending to be Israeli soldiers. Pictured: the aftermath of Hamas attacks at Kibbutz Re’im

Ms Cohen said Hamas ‘destroyed’ her home as her family went without water and food until they were rescued by Israeli soldiers.

‘Above us, an RPG missile landed on the top of our roof,’ she said.

‘With tears in our eyes, we were escorted out of the Kibbutz.

‘We will never forget the terrifying scenes of carnage and death we saw as we were driven away in military vehicles.’

Only weeks ago Ms Cohen lost her brother, Chen Amir to a terrorist’s bullet on the busy of streets Tel Aviv, as women and children looked on in horror.

Mr Amir, a police officer who is also Dr Abramovich’s cousin, was shot dead on August 5 while on patrol in Tel Aviv by a man with links to the militants behind weekend’s attacks.

The gunman was Kamel Abu Bakr, 22, a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. 

Islamic Jihad and Hamas are aligned and both were involved in the attacks on Israel. 

More than 700 Israelis died in the attacks, which involved gunmen breaching security barriers and rocket attacks with the onslaught described as Israel’s Pearl Harbor.

Gardens around Kibbutz Re’im, in southern Israel before Hamas attacked

Only weeks ago Ms Cohen lost to brother, Chen Amir to a terrorist’s bullet on the busy of streets of Tel Aviv. Pictured: Mr Amir with his wife, Vered Assayag Amir, who called him ‘a national hero’

A rocket is launched from the coastal Gaza strip towards Israel by militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of Hamas movement, in Gaza City

Of the people killed, 260 are believed to have attended a music festival at Kibbutz Re’im. 

Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhala said that his faction was holding more than 30 Israelis captive having abducted them in the Gaza Strip since Saturday. 

‘The heart of every Australian-Jew is bleeding,’ said Dr Abramovich, who grew up in southern Israel at Be’er Sheva and came to Australia at 16.

His cousins are ‘traumatised’ but lucky to be alive. 

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‘As you can imagine they’re sad and horrified but they’re just happy to have survived,’ Dr Abramovich, who is chairman of Australia’s anti-defamation league.

‘The family had to move to another city, accompanied by Israeli defence forces. It’s just not safe there.’  

‘These barbaric agents of hate entered Israel with one purpose—to slaughter as many Jews as they could, shooting elderly people at bus stops, kidnapping babies, teenagers and families, setting houses on fire with Holocaust survivors inside and then celebrating, dancing and mutilating corpses.’

Meanwhile another Melbourne woman, Emily Gian, remains in a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv after also surviving the weekend’s attacks.

‘Rocket attacks are going to start up again at 6pm,’ Ms Gian wrote on social media early Monday morning Sydney time.

‘We have two more minutes before it all starts again.’

Ms Gian, her husband and three children received only 30 seconds warning to reach an underground bomb shelter ahead of incoming missiles at Yehud on Saturday morning as the missile strikes began.

After the death of Dr Abramovich’s cousin, Mr Amir, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Mr Amir ‘stopped a greater terrorist attack from taking place with his own body and saved many lives’.

Mr Amir had three children, Romi, 7, Mika, 5, and Emma, 2.

His widow, Vered Assayag Amir called her husband ‘a national hero’ and pleaded ‘I want you to give me strength to raise our daughters, you left a huge crater behind.’

‘I always knew he’d be the first to [engage an assailant],’ she told Israeli media. 

‘In all the previous terrorist attacks, he was always the first to run and search and help. He has a closet full of thank you certificates. He saved lives, he saved people.’ 

Melbourne woman, Emily Gian, and her family remain in a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv after also surviving the weekend’s attacks

HOW ADIA COHEN’S FAMILY SURVIVED AT KIBBUTZ RE’IM

‘My husband and two children spent more than 10 hours huddled in a safe room in our home in Kibbutz Reim.

‘Inside, we heard our neighbours (six of them murdered, others injured and kidnapped) screaming for help and the terrorists shooting at people.

‘The Hamas gunmen then entered our home, pretending to be Israeli soldiers and asked us to open the door to the safe room. 

‘Luckily, we did not. 

‘They destroyed our home. Above us, an RPG missile landed on the top of our roof. 

 A bombed out home at Kibbutz Re’im i southern Israel. More than 2500 missiles were aimed at Israel from Gaza

‘We had very little water and food and were gravely concerned for our elderly parents, also at Kibbutz Reim, who were sending distressing messages on WhatsApp. 

‘At the end of this ordeal, we were rescued by the brave soldiers of the Israeli Defence Forces. 

‘With tears in our eyes, we were escorted out of the Kibbutz. We will never forget the terrifying scenes of carnage and death we saw as we were driven away in military vehicles.’