LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to Scripps News, Israel says it is conducting a "complete siege" on the Gaza Strip, one of two Palestinian-held areas within Israel.
MORE: Gaza under 'complete siege' as Israel cuts food, water, electricity
I met with Israeli community members who live in the valley to share the impact of this terror attack.
"This is our 9/11," said Chen Levanon, a Las Vegas resident who was born in Israel. "And even worse."
She says watching what is happening in Israel close to where her family lives destroys her emotionally.
"Killing babies, raping girls, kidnapping elderly, kidnapping mothers," she said. "For what?"
It's a question many Israelis are asking now.
Since Saturday's large-scale surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, which killed at least 900 people and left thousands injured, Israel has declared war, prompting airstrikes into Gaza.
Israelis are being taken as hostages.
"What comes to mind for you as someone who was born and raised there?" I asked Levanon.
"It is hard, it's hard because it can be our children," she said. "It's hard because you feel connected to that. It is not army to army, it's not soldier to soldier, it's against innocent people."
Yoav Etzion, also born in Israel, has lived in Las Vegas for more than 20 years. He has his own accounting business in the valley.
"It is not about land, it's not about money," he said. "It's about, 'we don't want you here, period. We want to kill you.'"
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Etzion told me his daughter decided to volunteer in the Israeli army. During this war, he's worried about her life and his family's.
"How does that make you feel?" I asked him.
"Sick to my stomach and devastation, I can't focus on anything, we always are praying, my extended family is there," he said. "I constantly wake up at night to see if there is anything new, it's very hard."
Levanon says las Vegas has a large-scale Israeli community, roughly more than 15,000 people. She says they are worried their family members will be the next victim.
"Since the Holocaust, the number of the killing of Jews in one day, it's like the largest number," she said. "And we promised ourselves as a nation — never again."
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