The family, including newborn Kai, spent nine hours in a safe room as their house was burnt around them before being rescued by the Israeli Defence Force
Aimee Labban, her husband Uriel, and newborn Kai, receive treatment after being rescued by the IDF.
(Russell Langer/X)
Aimee Labban, her husband Uriel, and newborn Kai, receive treatment after being rescued by the IDF.
A 10-day-old British-Israeli baby was trapped with his parents in a safe house for nine hours surrounded by the wreckage of their home as Hamas militants stormed their town, The Independent has been told.
The family, who lived in the neighbourhood of Nirim, 1.5 miles from the Gaza border, ran to the shelter after hearing rocket fire at 6 am on Saturday.
Aimee Labban and her husband Uriel were hiding with baby Kai and his aunt, Deborah Mintz, too terrified to leave, said his cousin Russell Langer, a policy researcher based in London.
Mr Langer told The Independent that he was worried after seeing the news of Hammas missile strikes, knowing that his family lived near the Gaza border.
He texted Mrs Labban and it soon became clear that her family was in “immediate danger.”
He received a message from her saying: “We are stuck. They came in and burnt our house.”
As the family was trapped in their safe room, they became aware that Hammas terrorists were in their community and shortly after Hammas set fire to their home.
“They were inside the safe room, the fire was stopped from spreading but the room did fill up with smoke, and they had to hold the baby up to the window to ensure that he was able to breathe.
“All they could do at that point in time was weighed in the hope that they would be rescued and not captured,” He said.
Their house was completely burnt down and so were their cars outside.
“Baby Kai appears to be okay but they will never be able to return to their home again, as there’s nothing left to come back to,” Mr Langer added.
Mr Langer said the family were later rescued by the Israeli Defence Force and are now in hospital receiving initial treatment.
“The immediate danger is over, but they're still recovering. It's been quite a traumatic experience for him.”