Houston soldier fights on front lines in Israel
HOUSTON - Yigal Chandler was born and raised in Houston, but felt called to Israel in his early twenties. After serving his two years in the Israel Defense Forces as a citizen, he's been called out of reserves to serve his country.
"I’m very motivated, very honored to protect and serve my country and defend my people."
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He says with that pride, comes a lot of heartache and sorrow. He says on October 7, he had family friends from Houston visiting him in Israel. They were celebrating Simchat Torah, a sacred Jewish holiday, when the unimaginable happened.
Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1,300 Israelis - most of those being civilians. Chandler turned on his phone to dozens of missed calls from military officials - and the next day was off to war.
"I saw beautiful things that day. The country of Israel coming together, pouring out love particularly for our soldiers," he said.
He also saw, and has seen since then, terrible things.
"Buildings destroyed, car destroyed, whether by rocket attacks or the looting by Hamas terrorists," he said. More horrific sights around every corner. "Human remains, dead bodies, a dead dog, the Hamas terrorists shot even a dog."
He can't discuss exactly where he is, but it's on the Gaza border. He and several others are staying in a house, but don't know if the owners are even alive.
"We're staying in a house right now, that actually belongs to a family who is being held hostage by Hamas," he said. "It's just so chilling to the bone, I'm in their house, sleeping on their couch, using their toilet paper and I have no idea what's happening to them, or when we'll see them again," he said.
Chandler knows several who have died at the hands of Hamas and says every Jew and Israeli around the world can feel this pain.
A pain Rabi Lazer Lazaroff feels all the way back home in Houston.
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"My brother was called up, he's in the reserve. His wife is a physician, she was called to the hospital, she's on call," he said.
Both Lazaroff and Chandler compare the October 7 attacks, to America's 9/11.
"This is probably, since the Holocaust, the first time this many Jews were slaughtered in one day," said Lazeroff.
Since the attacks that launched the all-out war, Israel has launched several military strikes, killing more than 2,670 people in Gaza, according to their health ministry.
During a "free-Palestine" rally in Houston Saturday a woman said, "The Israeli Defense Minister has called for the genocide of Palestinians... ordering a full siege. No power, no food, no gas, to fight what they call human animals."
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If you want to help support innocent victims of this war, on both sides, you can do so using the links below.