A Ngāti Porou descendant from Kaikohe is trapped in the region as the Israel-Hamas war escalates.
The death toll is rising on both sides as Israel retaliates after a Hamas massacre of Jewish families. The Gaza Strip is being bombarded and water and power have been cut off.
Jenny Matheson arrived in Israel two days before the initial attacks on a religious pilgrimage, as well as to pay respects to the graves of Māori soldiers who died in the world wars. However, she had no idea that her third trip would see her in the midst of a war.
“When my friends and I have to evacuate, firstly we grab our running shoes. Sometimes we have roughly two minutes to sprint to our bunkers,” Matheson says.
The events this religious pilgrim has experienced over the five days of this conflict are things she has never seen before in her years of travelling, and the stories she has heard and things she has seen have deeply distressed her.
She talked about a shepherd they met: “When the guns stopped, he looked out his window and saw how many people dead along the main road killed by their enemies. It’s so sad,” she says.
Indigenous Coalition for Israel co-director Dr Sheree Trotter says the acts committed in the past five days are nothing short of heinous.
“It’s just horrendous what’s happened there, it’s barbaric, it’s just savagery, and I’m sure everybody knows, has seen the pictures of the murders, the beheadings. This morning I woke up to news that 40 slain children had been discovered. Children beheaded.
“This is beyond comprehension, this is pure evil. That is the face, the true face of Hamas and we need to understand that. We need to understand that this is a terrorist organisation and they must be stopped,” she says.
Israeli control of Gaza ended in 2005 after maintaining control over the land since 1948, establishing Jewish settlements throughout that time. Sovereignty and freedom have been a desire long sought after by Palestinians, who were driven from their lands.
Palestine Solidarity Network of Aotearoa national chair John Minto is also astounded by the actions of Hamas, labelling them a “war crime”.
“We unequivocally condemn those attacks, they are appalling. Most Palestinian people around the world say Hamas does not represent them. This is not in the interest of Palestinian people at all. We want to be really clear about that,” he says.
However, Minto also says the Palestinians who have been fighting for their sovereignty and freedom for years shouldn’t bear the brunt of Israel’s attack.
“They want peace, they want to live in peace, they want freedom for their kids, they want them to be educated, they want decent healthcare and to look after them. But they’ve been kept for 75 years under this military occupation and it finally blasted over the weekend in the most appaling way. It’s not a way for people to sheet over to Palestinian people but should sheet over to who did it, which is Hamas.”
But there are still Māori there, like Matheson who don’t want to leave just yet.
“We don’t want to come back home, we want to stay here, and reinforce that we are here for them, to try and elevate some pain.”
More than 3,500 people, children and babies alike have died in the war so far.