A man who survived a hail of bullets from Hamas militants at a music festival in Israel arrived safely in Los Angeles on Wednesday after he spent hours running for his life in sheer terror.
“I ran for four hours or something like that. You know, everybody that went back home are very lucky to be alive right now,” said Roei Burshtein.
Burshtein had an emotional reunion with his father at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where he was grateful to be somewhere safe and back with loved ones. Burshtein recalled seeing people being attacked by militant gunmen and rockets overhead.
“We saw stuff. It wasn’t normal, you know,” he said. “We saw people get hurt and get shot. But yeah, I’m just happy to be here alive.”
After hugging his son tenderly, Burshtein’s father, Yuval Burshtein, said he feared the worst after his phone call with Roei suddenly cut off amid the attack.
“I was on the line with him, and then the phone hang up,” Yuval said. “No signal. I didn’t know where – for like 8 hours, maybe. I didn’t know where is my kid. I believed the worst happened.”
Thankfully, all members of the Burshtein family who attended the Supernova music festival survived and were reunited.
“Oh, it’s amazing. A miracle,” Yuval said. “It’s amazing. It’s not only him. We have six family members and they went to this party. Thank God we got all these kids together at home. It was amazing and miracle. Amazing.”
College students return from studying abroad in Israel
Students from a Santa Clarita college who were in Israel arrived home safely after a grim weekend. Bailey Miller reports for the NBC4 News on Oct. 11, 2023.
LAX has been home to several emotional reunions for families welcoming back loved ones who were in Israel during the attacks. This was the case for several college students who were studying abroad when the Hamas militants set out their assaults.
Students from Santa Clarita-based Master’s University were full of relief upon seeing their families after their flights touched down. One father said he’d been waiting eagerly to embrace his daughter.
“Very relieved she is home from the violence going on over there,” Patrick Duffy told NBC4.
He said his daughter and her peers had to hunker down when the attacks happened.
“On Sunday night, the rockets fell,” he recalled. “They actually made it in south of Jerusalem where they were living. They had a bomb shelter where they had gone to, they did a good job taking care of our students.”
To escape the violence, the students had to travel for several days before they could return to the U.S. Their endeavor included a bus to Jordan, a flight to Dubai and then another flight to Los Angeles.
LA family seeks status on safety of their family members
The Aranoff family has nearly 100 family members in Israel, including a cousin that has been called to serve. Alex Rozier reports for the NBC4 News on Oct. 11, 2023.
As families reunite tearfully at LAX, a Los Angeles couple says they feel helpless hearing about the atrocities happening in Israel.
“The news that we are getting is just of unspeakable cruelty and terror,” said Judy Aranoff, whose family lives in Israel.
According to Aranoff’s daughter, they have nearly 100 family members in Israel. Because their family is so large, there are some relatives whose status they are unsure of.
“They live all over, so we didn’t know who is safe, who is accounted for, who is going to be called to the Army,” Yael Aranoff said.
At least one of their family members has been called to serve.
“We would have thought that in the year 2023, we would have been past that already but no,” the soldier, whose name will not be released for his safety, said.
Modern Middle East history professor James Gelvin said that Hamas wants to disrupt a peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia and have rallied the Arab world around a Palestinian cause characterized by conflict with Israel. Ted Chen reports for the NBC4 News on Oct. 11, 2023.