A New Zealander in Tel Aviv is concerned his husband will now be called into military service, while a Kiwi-Israeli woman says her hometown was attacked as “Hamas men [were] going house to house”. 

Backed by a barrage of rockets, militants from the Palestinian Islamist group launched an attack from blockaded Gaza into nearby Israeli towns, killing civilians and troops and abducting others. 

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Kiwi Jordan Grimmer moved to Israel two years ago to be with his husband, who now may be called up by the Israel Defence Forces to fight against Hamas. 

Grimmer said it wasn’t uncommon for the sirens to ring around Tel Aviv, the most populous city in Israel, where they were given 90 seconds on Saturday to run into a community bunker and wait for the rocket attack to cease. 

AP reported a Hamas rocket barrage hit four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb. 

People in Tel Aviv look at the damage from a rocket fired from Gaza. Photo / AP 

“Even though we’re not kind of being directly affected by the hostage situation, basically a huge number of people have been called up to military reserve duty with the prospect of them having to go down there to help rescue the hostages and fight,” Grimmer told the Herald. 

He said a close friend’s brother was in the area in southern Israel where hostages were being taken by Hamas and he was yet to hear from him. 

“I have a very, very large number of friends and colleagues who have been called up to reserve duty, and this is the first time something like this has ever happened to them. It’s a very new situation for all Israelis under the age of 50 to be in something like this,” Grimmer said. 

The Hamas attacks came on a Jewish holiday and the 50th anniversary of the surprise Arab offensive which sparked the Yom Kippur War in 1973. 

Grimmer said he was worried his husband, Yehonatan Tufik, would also be “hauled up into the military reserves”. 

“That hasn’t happened yet, but you know, it’s a possibility to think about.” 

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday called up “an extensive mobilisation of reserve forces”. 

Jordan Grimmer, a New Zealander in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo / File 

Grimmer said the past 24 hours had been a “real physical shock” and “everyone here is scared and very sad and uncertain about what’s going to happen next.” 

“Your mind’s running like 100 miles an hour here, while also being paralysed,” Grimmer said. 

“When there are little things [that] heat up here, people are very resilient, usually people are able to continue with life. But at the moment, I think everyone’s just very uncertain - there’s just no one on the streets.” 

Israeli-Kiwi Daphna Whitmore was born in a town which was targeted by Hamas and saw civilians killed and taken hostage. 

“I was born on a kibbutz (traditional agricultural town) in the south called Nir Am (near Sderot) and that was invaded by terrorists,” Whitmore said. 

“Some of these communities, you know, had Hamas men going house to house, pulling people out and killing them and whipping them.” 

Whitmore still has family in the country, who are reeling from the surprise attack. 

Her family works on a collective farm just a few kilometres from the Gaza armistice agreement line and had to band together to form their own defence against the militants. 

She said a family friend’s grandson had been killed at a music festival, and everyone knew someone who had been affected by the attacks. 

“My cousin, I was talking to, she was saying mostly just focusing on keeping their children and just so they turn off the television, you know, they have to shelter in their houses, they can’t come out,” Whitmore said. 

“The people are very resilient and communities help each other. The thing that you don’t see about is actually inside Israel, it’s a very mixed community and Arabs and Jews live together, work together and have good relationships but it’s the mentality of Hamas ... and other terror groups, they’re not interested in any living together.” 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said there are 87 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in Israel, and one registered in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

New Zealanders in Israel are advised to remain security-conscious, monitor local media and stay informed of developments, register on SafeTravel and, if requiring consular assistance, contact the New Zealand 24/7 Consular Emergency Line on +64 99 20 20 20. 

Yesterday, New Zealand’s political leaders largely condemned Hamas’ attacks. New Zealand had designated the military wing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. 

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins expressed “grave concern” about the conflict. 

“New Zealand condemns unequivocally the terror attacks led by Hamas on Israel,” he said. “We are appalled by the targeting of civilians and the taking of hostages, which violates fundamental international humanitarian law principles.” 

Israel retaliated by launching airstrikes in Gaza, killing hundreds, with Netanyahu saying the country is now at war and vowing to “take mighty vengeance for this black day”. 

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.