Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, 310 Lagos pilgrims who have returned to Nigeria from Israel have shared harrowing tales of how they narrowly escaped deadly attacks in the war-torn region.
In an interview with The PUNCH, some of the returnee shared their ordeal about how they narrowly escaped the war which has left thousands of people dead.
One pilgrim, Mrs. Adebimpe Bada, revealed that they were in Israel when the conflict started.
According to her, news of attacks on places they had recently visited reached them after their departure.
“We heard, I didn’t see, we heard that a particular hotel that we just departed from was attacked about two hours after we left there. We visited several places; we were in Bethlehem, we were in Jordan, we were in Nazareth, so, what we learned was that the last place we left, just barely two or three hours after we left, was attacked,” explained Bada.
Another pilgrim, Mr. Emmanuel Bantale, said he had premonition of potential attacks, given the timing of their visit during the Feast of Tabernacles, a period of heightened tension between Israel and Hamas.
He described an unsettling moment when, onboard a bus en route to the Sea of Galilee, he spotted a parachute in the distance, unknown to him that this was when Palestinians were targeting Israel.
The pilgrims also expressed gratitude to the Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board for their efficient management of the situation.
The 310 Lagos pilgrims safely landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos upon their return.
The Israel-Hamas conflict continues, with the death toll approaching 1,900 and ongoing attacks.
