Calgary family happy to be home after vacation destination turns into war zone

As Global Affairs Canada desperately works to bring home Canadians who are stranded in Israel in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war, one Calgary family barely managed to come home this weekend.

But, not before having two close encounters with rocket attacks.

David Wallach, his wife, daughter, her friend and boyfriend, arrived in Tel Aviv on Oct. 5, planning to visit family.

Just two days later, they were woken to the sound of explosions.

It wasn’t until the next day they realized this was the first Hamas rocket attack.

“One of the rockets fell two blocks from our hotel, destroyed two buildings and destroyed six or seven or eight cars, and injured four people,” Wallach said.

Once Israeli people realized the gravity of the situation, everything changed.

“A sense of rage and revenge settled down on the country, on its people, and that’s when all the disputes that we had, or the country had, the day before disappeared — they all became one unit, one force, saving people, and preparing for the next step,” he recalled.

On Wednesday, another rocket hit just a few kilometres from the small hamlet where they’d taken refuge.

“On Wednesday another rocket hit not so far from us. It was a strong explosion — loud explosion,” Wallach said. “So that’s when we decided we should look for ways to get out.”

Desperate to come home, they chose not to wait for the Canadian government to rescue them, eventually finding a charted flight to Haifa, Larnaca, in Cyprus, before taking another flight to Athens, then Rome, before finally landing in Calgary on Saturday night.

A bittersweet return, as Wallach said he can’t help but fear for his family and friends who remain in Israel during this nightmarish situation.

“When the Hamas people are just busy with throwing rockets and mortar shells that you don’t know where they will land or where they will fall, it’s a little bit of a challenge to leave family and friends behind — but we had our family to take care of,” he said.

However, Wallach has stayed in touch with his family members, as Global Affairs Canada continues to evacuate residents from both Israel and Gaza.

When the family arrived at YYC International, there were plenty of people there to welcome them home with open arms.

“That was nice and heartwarming to see we have good friends here that care about us and we care about them,” Wallach said.