'A miracle that most of us made it'

A group of women from Palm Beach, Florida, were visiting Kfar Aza kibbutz in southern Israel last month when a siren sounded. They had less than 10 seconds to escape to a bomb shelter.

Not everyone made it inside, said Dinie Scheiner, who led the trip of women from Palm Beach Synagogue to offer emotional, financial and in-person support to those impacted by the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

"Half of us ran to the shelter, and half did not make it in and laid on the ground with their hands over their heads to protect their vital organs, as we were instructed to do," Scheiner said. "As we ran, some were trampled on from the rush to make it into the shelter."

It was chaotic for a few minutes: "Once it was safe to get up and out, we realized that the shrapnel from the missile landed a foot away from where we were laying. It was truly a miracle that most of us made it into the shelter. I shudder to think otherwise."

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