Dusty Hannahs, formerly #20 of the Santa Cruz Warriors.Photo:David Becker/NBAE via Getty
David Becker/NBAE via Getty
An American basketball player and his teammates in the Israeli Premier League were forced to evacuate their homes after thedeadly Hamas attacks broke outin Israel.
Ironi Ness Ziona player Dusty Hannahs detailed the harrowing 72 hours during an interview onSiriusXM’sThe Starting Lineupon Tuesday, telling the show’s hosts that he woke up on Saturday morning to the chaos. “I woke up at six in the morning and I just heard sirens,” Hannahs, 30, told the morning show.
Hannahs, who previously played for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, said he immediately took cover in the bomb shelter on his floor when missiles began hitting the city. “It’s pretty insane. You can feel the impact of the shaking in the sky, especially when it gets low,” he said. The athlete added his “room was shaking” and the motion lasted all day.
The Arkansas native said he lives in Bat Yam, located approximately two hours away from thedestruction on the Gaza Strip.
The basketball team’s general manager sent a text message instructing players to “pack a bag” and “be ready in an hour to leave for the airport” at around 5 p.m. on Saturday, said Hannahs, who is now safe with his teammates at a resort in Athens, Greece.
Uriel Trocki of Ironi Ness Ziona celebrates with his teammates during the Fiba Europe Cup.Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty
Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty
“As I look up, everyone in the airport is sprinting to a shelter. As an American, my first thought was there were gunmen, then I heard giant booms and they were shooting missiles at the airport while we were trying to get out,” he said.
Amid the frightening 72-hour evacuation, Hannahs said his parents were “freaking out” and constantly reaching out for updates from their son, so much so that he admitted, “I was kind of trying not to tell them too much.”
Dusty Hannahs, formerly #20 of the Santa Cruz Warriors.David Becker/NBAE via Getty
Hannahs described feeling “just helpless” as the attacks broke out in Israel, and said the “scariest part” of the weekend came for him after his airplane left the ground.
“Looking out those first 15 minutes before we’re getting off the border, hoping that missiles don’t start flying, was a new feeling,” he said.
The President issued astatementon Saturday explaining his stance on the matter after recently speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu “about the horrific and ongoing attacks in Israel.”
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President Joe Biden.Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
Biden continued, “Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
Israel and Palestine have been fighting for the right to claim Jerusalem as their capital for decades. Although Israel governs Jerusalem, Palestinians want control of East Jerusalem, which consists of the West Bank and Gaza, where several Palestinians now reside following their displacement as a result of 20th-century Arab-Israeli conflicts that began around the formation of Israel.
source: people.com
