Samaria mother describes miracle after Iranian missile blast: 'Knocked us off our feet'

Reut Ben-Gigi, a Samaria resident whose home was hit by the blast from an Iranian ballistic missile on Monday morning, spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News and shared her feelings in the hours after the incident.

"We are still internalizing. We're grateful for the miracles; there is no other way to explain how everyone here came out unharmed and is recovering," Ben-Gigi says.

She recounts the incident: "There was an early warning at around seven in the morning. My husband and I took the children and went to the only shelter for the 40 families in the community. Literally a moment before we went in, there was a great explosion, the kind that knocks you off your feet. You pick yourself up and keep going because you have to protect yourself and your children. At this point, we didn't understand what had happened. We understood that it was close, but not the scope of the damage. When more residents arrived, they told us about the damage to their homes. When we left, we understood the magnitude of the miracle and the extent of the damage."

"In my house, thank G-d, it was just books and shelves, but we have neighbors whose houses were destroyed. We all live in trailers, prefab homes, and there is great damage," Ben-Gigi adds.

The small portable shelter in the hilltop community where she lives, according to her, does not provide a proper solution to threats like missiles from Iran and Lebanon. "A portable shelter arrived here not long ago. We have a relatively large hilltop, and I have friends who didn't manage to get there because it's not walking distance. This is not a satisfactory or sufficient option to protect children and families. It is very frightening."

Asked if she thinks that Israel should follow US President Donald Trump's orders and stop striking Iran, Ben-Gigi answers: "I say that there is no reason to calm down. We have to fight back in full force so they understand that they can't mess with us. It needs to be very clear so they understand who we are and what we can do. Even if we pay a price in losing the children's routine, in the fact that there is no organized work, we are willing to take it if it is a crushing victory.