AUSTIN (Nexstar) — As the war in the Middle East expands, some Texans are feeling the loss personally. And it’s happening to people on both sides of the conflict. Both Israeli and Palestinian Americans are grieving loved ones killed in Israel and in Gaza.
LeElle Slifer of Dallas lost a family member who was recently killed as a hostage in Gaza.
“She was a good playmate growing up, we used to have sleepovers … everything was great and fine and lovely,” said Slifer whose cousin was killed as a Hamas hostage. “And then they woke up on Oct. 7.”
While the anniversary passed Monday, Texans like Slifer relive the Oct. 7 attack every day.
“We didn’t know for a while what had happened to Carmel,” Slifer said. “It took a while because there were bodies that we were finding for days after Oct. 7… we learned from two teenagers who had been kept with her in Gaza, that she was doing yoga with them, that she was helping them meditate … they called her their guardian angel, and she was watching over them.”