Young reservists fly back to Israel, say ‘ready for war’

Young Israeli reservists queued up at Paris’ main airport on Tuesday to fly back home, speaking of their shock at the Hamas attacks and determination to fight.

Israeli media said deaths from Saturday’s Hamas attacks had reached 900, mostly civilians gunned down in homes, on streets or at a desert dance party.

“It’s been hell… I have three girl friends we haven’t located, I know a lot of people who died,” 21-year-old Eden said as she wheeled her suitcase to the check-in counter of Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

“I think we were well prepared in the army, after three years of military service … I think I’m ready for war,” said Eden, who had arrived in France one month earlier for work.

“That’s it. That’s life. We can’t do anything, we have to fight.”

El Al and Israir Airlines have added more flights to bring reservists back to the country, after Israel said on Monday it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists.

“It was shocking. It was shocking because we weren’t expecting it at all,” 26-year-old Shimone said of Saturday’s attacks. One of his friends was missing, and many others had already joined the army.

“Currently, they are all already fully equipped. They’ve already started the work, so we have to join them, that’s all.”

Nearby, 22-year-old Ofir, who had been in Vietnam, said he had taken the quickest possible route, via Bangkok and Paris, to head back home, “just to be to be on the side of friends, on the side of family, on the side of all the injured and murdered people.”