On Simchat Torah morning, Hedva woke up to the terrible sound of missiles falling in the city, along with shots, bursts of machine guns and grenades being thrown in all directions, and even the cry of "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic. Hedva, who was staying at her mother-in-law's house for the holiday, entered the safe room when she was nine months old, along with all the nephews and extended family who were staying at the house. For very long hours, they were forced to maintain complete silence and complete blackout. "We gave the children candy all the time to keep them quiet, we hung blankets on the windows. So they don't see any light outside. On the eve of the holiday, we managed to pick up a very short phone call to the family from Kiryat Gat and let them know that we were okay."
Ayala was also staying at her mother-in-law's house in Kiryat Gat on Simchat Torah, the house was hit directly by a missile, the family was saved because they were in the safe room. "We were saved by tax! The missile hit the house and if we hadn't been inside the safe room, I wouldn't be here! Throughout the holiday, I was sure that no one from our family was left in Sderot, I thought everyone was gone. The moment we received a short, fragmented phone call from them on the eve of the holiday was a crazy relief!" Ayala's son is hospitalized in the fully protected NICU, since he was born a week early in pregnancy - 35 weeks. The NICU staff treats him professionally and dedicatedly and allows the family to stay by his side.
Three days later, the whole family evacuated from Sderot and Kiryat Gat to the Daniel Hotel in Herzliya, where they now live. Ayala and Hedva arrived at Laniado Hospital for delivery in the protected delivery rooms and describe a sense of security: "Here we don't feel the war, we feel safe here, the staff envelops us above and beyond. It is important for us to convey to everyone one simple and true message: The people of Israel are alive."
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