From Conflict to Conflict: A Ukrainian Refugee’s Ordeal in Israel
Tetiana Kurakova, a 40-year-old makeup artist, arrived in Israel in 2022, seeking refuge from the devastating war unfolding in Ukraine. She believed she had finally found a haven, a place where the sounds of bombs and the fear of airstrikes would be a distant memory. Friends helped her rebuild her life and career in the coastal city of Bat Yam. But for Tetiana, the search for safety proved tragically short-lived.
Early Sunday morning, an Iranian missile tore through a building adjacent to hers in Bat Yam. The strike was part of a week-long surge in conflict between Israel and Iran, initiated by Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military sites and personnel. Iran retaliated by launching hundreds of missiles and drones towards Israel. The Bat Yam attack became the deadliest single strike in this period of heightened tension, killing nine people, injuring dozens, and causing widespread destruction, including to hundreds of homes like Tetiana’s.
The sheer force of the blast blew out her apartment windows and damaged the walls. Amidst the rubble and chaos, Israeli soldiers were seen searching for survivors, highlighting the scale of the devastation.
Shattered Safety and Renewed Trauma
Displaced once again, Tetiana is now sheltering in a hotel in Tel Aviv alongside 250 other evacuees from Bat Yam. Recalling the moment the missile hit, she described a scene of surreal horror. “It felt like a nightmare,” she said, struggling to articulate the overwhelming impact. “I had a panic attack. I just sat on the road… and started to cry, to sob from all the misery that had happened.”
For Tetiana, the experience brought back the visceral terror of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She spoke of recurring dreams where she is hiding, running from drones and bombs, desperately searching for shelter – Iranian-made Shahed drones, now used against both Ukraine and Israel.
This renewed trauma is shared by many Israelis now living under constant threat. The past week has seen 24 people killed and hundreds injured across Israel, with missiles hitting dozens of sites including apartment buildings, offices, and even a hospital. Air raid sirens are a daily, sometimes hourly, reality, forcing civilians to scramble for cover.
The psychological toll is immense. Residents describe disrupted sleep, constant anxiety, and the grim atmosphere in crowded building shelters. The fear of being caught outdoors during an attack while performing essential tasks is palpable. Many, like Tetiana, find their lives on hold, disrupted by displacement and uncertainty. Some areas, particularly older neighborhoods in cities like Bat Yam or Arab towns, often lack adequate reinforced shelters, leaving residents more vulnerable.
A Shared Tragedy: Ukrainians Caught in the Crossfire
Tetiana is one of approximately 30,000 Ukrainians who have sought refuge in Israel since 2022. Tragically, five of the victims killed in the Bat Yam strike were also Ukrainians from the same family, who had come to Israel not just to escape the war but specifically to seek medical treatment for their 7-year-old daughter who had blood cancer. This heartbreaking detail underscores how the escalating conflict is ensnaring those already displaced by other global crises. The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel is facing challenges repatriating bodies due to the closure of Israel’s airspace amid the ongoing attacks.
The city of Bat Yam, with its significant population from the former Soviet Union who arrived in earlier migration waves, had become a natural place for many newly arrived Ukrainians to settle, offering a lower cost of living than nearby Tel Aviv. However, the recent strike has highlighted the vulnerability of certain areas.
Caught Between Two Worlds
More than a year before the missile strike in Bat Yam, Tetiana had already experienced fear in Israel’s south following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza. While that fighting was 60 kilometers away, she could sometimes hear the distant booms. Yet, she wasn’t prepared for the direct threat to hit so close to her new home.
Globally, the escalating conflict is causing concern. International governments, including the United States and Australia, are actively working to evacuate their citizens from both Israel and Iran, organizing transport for those caught in the crossfire, including groups like University of Miami students on internship programs who found themselves seeking safety in Tel Aviv.
For Tetiana, the path forward is agonizingly unclear. Her mother, still living in Russian-occupied Donetsk in Ukraine, has urged her to leave Israel and move anywhere else. Displaced from her apartment due to structural concerns, she was only able to salvage a few belongings, joining some 5,000 other Israelis displaced from damaged or destroyed homes across the country.
“I feel terrified inside and outside,” Tetiana said, expressing a profound sense of hopelessness. She had previously found comfort in Israel’s advanced air defense systems, a contrast to the vulnerability she felt in Ukraine. Now, that sense of security has been shattered. “That was the reason I left Ukraine,” she reflected. “I didn’t understand that it was possible here.” Caught between the war she fled and the conflict that has now found her, Tetiana’s story is a stark reminder of the layered tragedies faced by those seeking safety in an increasingly volatile world.
