Windsorites with family in Gaza and Israel say it's hard to watch from afar but impossible not to

While the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has been difficult to watch, some Windsor residents with family in Gaza say it's also been impossible to turn away.

Yasmin Snounu's dad, grandma, uncles, aunts and extended family are in Gaza while her mother and siblings are in the West Bank.

Snounu says her uncles' houses were targeted, so they ran to stay with her father.

But their safety there was also short-lived.

"My family sent me a video of when they were evacuating," she said. "They were running away from my dad's house. I have some family members who are in the open air, we have other family members who are taking shelter in the hospitals."

"But nowhere is safe."

Snounu says she expects to hear bad news at any moment. Especially regarding one of her in-laws.

"She [has been] under rubble for five days," Snounu said. "We still don't know anything about her or her two daughters.

"The situation is a catastrophe."

Reliable communication in and out of Gaza has been difficult to come by, so Snounu is having difficulty finding out if her family is safe.

Dan Robenko, his wife and their two sons left their home in Kfar Yona, which is in Israel's Central District.

He felt they were not safe at home and wanted to take them somewhere that was.

Dan Brotman, executive director of the Windsor Jewish Federation and Community Centre, said Windsor's Jewish community welcomed families from all over the world last week, including one family from Israel.

Robenko says it felt like someone wanted to help them in Windsor.