Most Israelis rejoiced over the massive Hezbollah attack that was thwarted by IDF preemptive strikes early Sunday. However, the residents of Akko, which was targeted by Hezbollah in the limited strike it carried out shortly after the Israeli attack, had less reasons to rejoice.

Many rockets scored direct hits in Akko, including on private homes, buildings, and a kindergarten, causing extensive property damage. One resident was lightly injured by shrapnel. The cities of Tzfas, Katzrin and Ma’alot were also targeted but the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome.

The Saade family in Akko experienced an incredible neis. Although their house is currently uninhabitable, with shattered windows and collapsed ceilings, the mother’s intuition saved her life and the lives of her four daughters. The family home does not have a safe room so when Red Alert sirens sound, they climb into a shoe closet in a concert shaft in the basement. The closet is only a meter wide so the the first neis was the fact that five people climbed into the closet and managed to close the door.

Ami Saade told Radio 104.5FM about the neis: “My wife was in the bedroom upstairs with our four daughters. My wife had a premonition and woke them up a minute before the Red Alert siren sounded and took them downstairs to our protected space which is a shoe closet in a concrete shaft. While they were sitting inside, they heard a boom and the entire house shook. I had just left for work and my wife called me and told me to hurry back.”

“I have no house to live in. The girls’ rooms – everything is damaged, glass everywhere, on their beds, holes in the walls, the ceilings fell.”

Akko Mayor Amichai Ben-Shlush said: “What happened this morning was a huge neis. It was a difficult morning. Shrapnel from interceptor rockets – an entire building destroyed, stressed residents. People were miraculously saved because they heeded instructions.”

The video below shows the kindergarten hit by a rocket. Also, Gershon, a resident of Akko, tells how he and his family were miraculously saved from harm but his house sustained heavy damage and his computers and and equipment for his photography business were destroyed.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)