"Woke Up To Sounds Of Bombs Going Off": Nushrratt Bharuccha Shares Her Terrifying Ordeal In Israel
Bollywood actor Nushrratt Bharuccha, after celebrating her film's selection at the Haifa Film Festival, found herself in a dire situation the next morning. She awoke to the unsettling sound of bombs going off in Tel Aviv as the war between Israel and Hamas intensified.
Bollywood actor Nushrratt Bharuccha, after celebrating her film's selection at the Haifa Film Festival, found herself in a dire situation the following day. She woke up to the unsettling sound of bombs going off in Tel Aviv as the war between Israel and Hamas intensified.
Akelli premieres in Israel with @Nushrratt and @TsahiHalevi @IsraelinIndia @indemtel pic.twitter.com/665hY4Zg9P
〞 Anat Bernstein-Reich?????? (@BernsteinReich) October 4, 2023
Israel was shaken by the magnitude of the assault by Hamas, which it compared to the 9/11 attacks.
AFP
"We'd said our goodbyes and were ready to fly back the next day. But Saturday morning was nothing like the previous evening's celebration. We were woken up to the deafening sounds of bombs going off, a blaring siren, and complete and utter panic as we were all rushed down into shelter' in the basement of our hotel," she said in a statement today.
Instagram/Nushrratt Bharuccha
"It was only when we emerged from in there, after what seemed like an endless wait, that we learned that Israel was under attack. Nothing could have prepared us," she added.
#WATCH | Actress Nushrratt Bharuccha arrives at Mumbai airport from Israel https://t.co/kLfmKomeN3 pic.twitter.com/FqyhOtj9FZ
〞 ANI (@ANI) October 8, 2023
Air India announced the cancellation of its flights to and from Tel Aviv until October 14.
AFP
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned Gaza civilians to evacuate from all Hamas sites, pledging to reduce them to rubble.
Nushrratt revealed that her hotel was just 2 km from the Indian Embassy. However, the proximity felt daunting due to the intense sounds of nearby explosions.
She said their phone batteries were quickly depleting, and they were losing cell network coverage.
"There was an open fire on vehicles on the roads, and the situation out on the streets was 'extremely dangerous.' Just then, we heard a second siren go off and were rushed back down into the basement shelter,"
The 38-year-old actor, in Haifa for her film 'Akelli' screening, received unexpected help from Israeli co-actors, the Indian and Israeli embassies, and a taxi driver.
Nushrratt Bharuccha/Instagram
"Our journey out of our Tel Aviv hotel was not easy, to put it mildly... praying the whole time, even crying sometimes, we held onto each other for the courage to keep on going, somehow making it to Ben Gurion Airport. The wait between one formality to the next for boarding a flight has never been more excruciating," she said.
"Safe and Grateful": Nushrratt Bharuccha
"As someone who has barely escaped a war zone, I cannot be more grateful today...I'm back home and safe with my family and my loved ones. But with an experience that has made me immensely grateful for the safety and security that we almost take for granted. I am ever so grateful to the Government of India, the Indian Embassy, and the Israeli Embassy for their help and guidance in bringing my team and me back safe,"
The death toll in Israel has risen to over 900, marking the deadliest attack in the country's 75-year history. Gaza officials have reported 687 casualties thus far.
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