WELLINGTON, Fla. — Rockmacher family members in Wellington said their children are caught in the chaos after flying to Israel for school.
"I woke up at 4 a.m. to a phone call 'Mommy I'm sorry to wake you but a war just broke out in Israel overnight," Vivian Rockmacher said Monday.
"Our first thought was we gotta get them out of there. We gotta get them out of there as quick as we can. How are we going to do this?” Warren Rockmacher said.
Their 18-year-old son David is doing a gap year program, and their 20-year-old daughter Talia is starting her freshman year Reichman University, a private school in Herzliya, Israel.
"To think of them living through a war, there's no words to describe, I'm frightened," Vivian said.
They said flights to bring their children home from Israel were all booked up, and the soonest they could find was Wednesday.
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Both children have decided to stay in Israel.
"You just hope and pray that they're going to be okay and that's all we can do," Warren said.
Their daughter Talia, who is studying counterterrorism, didn’t want her picture broadcast for her safety concerns.
"Our friends have gone to war, our family has gone to war. We all know people that have been killed and kidnapped,” Talia said.
She said in her area the emergency sirens have gone off, forcing her to evacuate to bomb shelters.
"We've been basically hunkered down, we've been going out to get groceries," she said. "We got a message from the command front tonight saying 'just in case of anything stock up on water and dry food that could last for 72 hours.' It's kind of like hurricane prep in a way."
Talia said her classes are supposed to be starting in two weeks.
"You know it is very scary, no one knows what’s going to happen in the next coming days," Talia said. "I know soldiers right now living off of crackers because there’s just not enough food, and if staying here and cooking meals or going out and packaging food for soldiers will make a difference, then I want to do that."
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She said for protection she's been staying with friends and has decided to stay in Israel to volunteer and help with feeding people impacted.
The parents said their daughter has even donated all the supplies that she had purchased for school.
"While I'm so proud of their efforts, I want them home," Vivian said. "Those kids that are fighting out there, they’re the same age children as my children are right now."
Warren and Vivian said they've found comfort in their religion, walks with their dog, and are glued to their phones for any updates on the safety of their children.
"There's nothing more important than the safety of our kids, but we have to trust that they also feel comfortable making the decisions they are making," Warren said.