Israel

‘Scariest thing I've been through': Northeastern student, parents return from Israel

As some arrived at Logan Airport from war-torn Israel Tuesday, others were departing from Boston to fight for their homeland

NBC Universal, Inc.

A Northeastern University student landed safely Tuesday night in Boston after leaving war-torn Israel.

Karen Doherty and her parents arrived at Logan International Airport. She says she is still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was caught up in the middle of a war.

WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE

icon

>Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

"Definitely the scariest thing I've ever been through," Doherty said.

The fourth-year nursing student was doing her co-op program in Tel Aviv when she heard the sirens.

"We didn't know what was going on, but we knew to run downstairs to the bomb shelter," Doherty said. "It was sort of this storage closet, concrete, and we had a locked door. Walked down more stairs, there was another locked door, we didn't have electricity in there."

Doherty received a security escort from Northeastern. She was brought to the airport, where she and her parents flew to Portugal.

"We're lucky, but so many people are not," said her mother, Lauren Doherty.

The family says many people have not been so fortunate.

"My counselor from my program was at the music festival where everything kind of started," Karen Doherty said. "I know people who have family members who were kidnapped and killed."

At the same airport Tuesday, a group of Brookline students was sending off friends departing for Tel Aviv, with some passengers heading there to fight for their country.

"I'm in a combat unit," explained Avior Naot. "I was scared so much for my life, and still am, but when I'm thinking about those hostages and those people that are taken -- their poor, poor souls, and their families -- I cannot think about myself anymore."

Another Northeastern student who was doing his co-op program in Tel Aviv tells NBC10 Boston he was safely evacuated to Spain.

Contact Us