At least two members of Congress were in Israel when Hamas attacked the country.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was in Jerusalem on Saturday when the rockets were fired by Hamas, hitting the capital city.
The Hill reported that he and his staff had to shelter in place. Booker posted about the experience on social media, saying that they were “safe” but “shaken, angered, and heartbroken.” He said he was jogging behind his hotel when his chief of staff messaged him that he had to get back quickly since Israel was under attack.
I was in Israel when the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas started on Saturday. My team and I are now safe, but like many we are shaken, angered, and heartbroken by the hundreds killed, the thousands injured, those taken hostage, and all who are directly affected by these… pic.twitter.com/E4BgEZxSTC
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 8, 2023
Booker and his staff were able to leave Israel on Sunday, leaving early. He was there to talk about regional economic integration at a summit in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, CBS News reported.
He is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., was also in Israel with his wife and three youngest children for a family member’s bar mitzvah, Fox News reported.
Goldman and his family were able to leave for New York on Sunday morning.
He said he had to shelter in an interior stairwell at a hotel while rockets were being launched. Goldman appeared on the “Today” show on Monday morning to share what happened.
He said that he had been warned that sirens go off on occasion in Tel Aviv, but in the southern area, the sirens are not as frequent. He said he nor his children had ever heard sirens before Saturday morning and had to “scramble” to take shelter in the hotel stairwell.
