Former Philly journalist describes living in Israel during Iran's missile attack

It was just about dinnertime when Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.

In a matter of minutes, Iran sent at least 180 missiles at Israel, which, officials said, caused damage and fires from falling shrapnel as Israel’s Iron Dome and allies shot down the projectiles. No injuries were reported.

For Hadas Kuznits, a former journalist for NBC10 newsgathering partner KYW NewsRadio, who is spending a year in Israel with her family, the attack meant spending a night together in a bomb shelter.

“We put the mattresses in their tonight because we are going to sleep in there tonight,” she told NBC10’s Deanna Durante in the hours after the attack.

NBC10

Kuznits said that she was home when the attacks began, but her children were not. And, she said, when the alarms sounded, she rushed to the family’s bomb shelter as they had about a minute and a half to get to safety.

Yet, she said, those in Israel were prepared in the case of such an attack.

“We’re used to it. Like, there was the Yom Kipper war and, of course, Oct. 7, which was also on a holiday. So, we’re on high alert,” Kuznits said. “We know that when the holidays come, that’s when they like to hit Israel.”

According to her online biography on KYW NewsRadio, Kuznits was raised in Montgomery County and graduated from Temple University before she began a career in journalism.

She said that, even though there is ongoing turmoil, she plans to stay with her family in Israel and hopes for peace, though, Kuznits said, she knows that there may be much to be done before that can happen.

“There’s also 101 hostages still being held captive in Gaza, including seven Americans,” she said of hostages taken during Hamas’ 2023 terror attack. “There’s a lot that’s going on here, but everybody really does want it to be over and for peace to come. But, in order for that to happen, terrorism needs to be defeated.”