Fijian stuck in Jerusalem says their top priority right now is to be safe and in good spirit

Manasa Kolivuso who is in Jerusalem right now says their top priority right now is to be safe and in good spirit as they do not know what will happen next.

More than 300 Fijians and members of the Fijian diaspora are in Jerusalem to attend the Feast of Tabernacles 2023 that concluded on Friday.

In an interview with fijivillage News, Kolivuso says they are monitoring the situation and have a Fiji Airways security personnel on the ground that they are keeping in touch with.

When questioned on the uncertainty of their scheduled return to Fiji on Thursday, Kolivuso says they know the gravity of the situation and their safety along with those of the staff of Fiji Airways staff is their top priority.

Kolivuso who is a Minister in the Christian Mission Fellowship International church in Fiji says Jerusalem is quiet and calm right now and not like yesterday where they had to go to the hotel bomb shelter about 6 times.

He says they were having breakfast yesterday morning when the first alarm went off and now a 48-hour state of emergency has been declared in Jerusalem with restricted movement.

Kolivuso says Fiji has never been in a war like situation and there is a bit of fear as well but the people of Israel know the drill.

He says they were supposed to leave on Tuesday - Fiji time.

The church Minister says the Israeli iron dome has intercepted some rockets that could have landed in Jerusalem which is not too far away from the southern border of Gaza where the war is underway.

Kolivuso says this is probably the worst that that has happened to the Israeli as about 300 civilians have passed away and a lot of people have been taken hostage as well.

At least 300 people are reported killed and 1,590 wounded in Israel after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its biggest attack in years.

Dozens of gunmen from Gaza infiltrated southern Israeli communities after dawn under the cover of heavy rocket fire.

They have taken both Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage, and some have been brought back to Gaza.

Israel has responded with a wave of air strikes on Gaza that have killed 232 people and wounded 1,600, medics say.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "at war" and vowed that Hamas, which rules Gaza, would "pay an unprecedented price".

The Israeli military has mobilised tens of thousands of reservists and is now expected to launch a ground operation in Gaza.

Meanwhile, fighting is continuing with militants who still hold pockets of southern Israel.

Barrages of rockets are also being fired at Israeli cities and towns, with Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion among those hit.

Source: BBC