An Israeli mother whose two sons were taken hostage by Hamas exploded at MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell when asked how she felt about Israel’s counterattacks in Gaza.
Renana Gomeh, whose two sons aged 12 and 16 were kidnapped by Hamas, became visibly irritated when Mitchell asked her feelings about the attacks in Gaza.
‘I can’t be more sympathetic. I can’t be sympathetic to animal people – well, they’re not really people – who came into my house, broke everything,” Gomeh said.
“Stolen everything, took my children from their bedrooms and took them to the Gaza Strip.”
Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Tuesday as it prepares for an expected ground offensive back into Gaza.
In a stunning exchange with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell (right), Israeli mother Renana Gomeh (left) said she could not be sympathetic to counterattacks in Gaza
Israeli mother Renana Gomeh (pictured) said she was on the phone with her two sons, ages 12 and 16, when Hamas broke into their home and kidnapped them
1,900 people were reported to have died in the conflict since Saturday, including 1,000 dead in Israel and 900 in Gaza. Hundreds of Israelis have been taken hostage by Hamas.
Gomeh’s children were in their safe room when Hamas broke into their home and kidnapped them.
“I was on the phone with my youngest, I wasn’t home at the time and all I could hear was him begging them not to take him because he’s too young,” the mother said in a video shared with i.
‘They were taken out of their beds by terrorists who broke into my house. They broke down the door and took them.’
In the astonishing on-air interview, Gomeh accused Mitchell of trying to make a false equation between the Hamas attacks and Israel’s counter-attacks.
‘Look, you’re looking for a symmetrical situation first. And I must say it is not. When you’re dealing with a war that’s between two countries, countries don’t take children as hostages,’ she said.
‘I am sorry. It is against the laws of war. It’s against humanity. It goes against anything we all believe in. Israel never did, and never will. So there is no symmetry.’
The mother said she used to tell her children to have compassion for the children in Gaza, but now she is not so sure.
“Every time we had missiles fired at us, I told my children that they should be sympathetic to the children of Gaza because they suffer much more than them. I’m not sure I still believe in it now.’
“I have to say the only worry I have now about the bombings in Gaza is the fact that my children are there.” Gomeh said.
Israeli counterattacks caused destruction in western Gaza on Tuesday. Israel has mobilized more than 300,000 reservists, tanks and military vehicles ahead of a widely expected ground invasion
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Wednesday morning. More than 150 Israelis were taken hostage after Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday
More than 150 Israelis were taken hostage, including women, children and the elderly.
Israel has mobilized more than 300,000 reservists, tanks and military vehicles ahead of a widely expected ground invasion.
The United States deployed Delta Force and SEAL Team Six to assist Israeli forces in locating American hostages.
Gomeh said she hopes getting hostages out of Gaza is her country’s and the world’s priority.
‘I think any mother in the world should try to imagine her children in that situation and then think again. That’s all I want. I want the world to ask them to release children, to release the elderly, to release the civilians they took,’ she said.
‘There is no reason to keep them there. They are not soldiers. They are not part of the war. And they have nothing to do with it.’
‘This is not how a country behaves. This is a way in which a terrorist organization acts. I am sorry. So, again, there is no symmetry,’ she added.