Newbury woman fears for Israeli cousin caught in Israel-Hamas war

A Newbury woman has shared her fears for her relative caught in the Israel-Hamas crossfire.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, has shared her concern for her cousin living in Israel amid the sudden escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

She said: “I'm worried about them all, especially the family members who have been recalled and are serving in the army.

“That part of the family which lives in Ashkelon, they've all got children and families who haven't seen them for weeks now.”

On October 7, Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel and killed hundreds of festivalgoers, sparking fresh hostilities between both states in one the world’s longest-running conflicts.

Israel has since responded with a series of intense air strikes on Gaza — dividing the rest of the world.

The cousin of the Newbury woman is 38-year-old Miriam Kalson.

She was born to American and Canadian parents in Jerusalem, but has lived in the city of Ashkelon, just north of Gaza, almost all her life.

She remembers witnessing enemy bombing as a student — but says present hostilities and bombing in Ashkelon is worse than it’s ever been.

Miss Kalson told newburytoday that no one wants the current conflict — but believe it is necessary.

She shared her experiences of sleepless nights due to military activity, hearing drones buzzing around through the day, her neighbour’s house taking a direct hit and having a bomb shelter built outside her property — which she says she uses for laundry since this is too cramped to sleep in.

Miss Kalson, who has a background in criminal law and personally knew victims of the October 7 attack, said: “We didn’t use to get rockets in Ashkelon.

“I live in a safe neighbourhood. But I couldn’t take out the garbage at night because I was so scared.

“That’s the huge difference between what’s happened so far and now.”

Miss Kalson says Israelis are more concerned now about seeing gunmen on the streets than enemy bombing.

“Israelis were content with getting the occasional rocket but not conducting a war,” she added.

“There are extremists on both sides. But most Israelis want to live in peace, and peace means we don’t want rockets on our heads.

“Nobody is thrilled about the war here, but we feel that it needs to happen.

“We buried our heads in the sand for a long time. We knew one day we were going to have to deal with this problem from the ground.”

An aircraft, possibly military, flew overhead mid interview.

She continued: “It’s the worst it’s ever been because it feels very hopeless.

“I don’t think most humans want to live in war zones; it doesn’t matter which side you’re on.

“We are going to protect ourselves. We can’t ignore Gaza anymore because they’re shooting rockets at us and it’s just getting worse.

“Nobody is considering leaving the country. This is my home. This is where my family lives.

“I grew up here. My friends and my life are here. We can’t ignore the problem anymore.”

Hostilities between both states continue.