DETROIT (WXYZ) — Thousands of Israeli nationals have been called to return home to serve in the Israel Defense Forces amid the Hamas conflict.
CNN reports the Israeli government has called more than 300,000 reservists to serve.
Philip Mazingozny is one of the thousands of reservists who received the call for service.
For the last month, Mazingozny has been in Detroit with his wife Sam Mazin visiting family. They say exactly one month into their vacation, they learned Hamas sent thousands of rockets into south and central Israel killing hundreds.
"All we could think of was our families. We called them and sometimes, we wouldn’t get an answer and that was the scariest thing ever," Mazin said. "We see that there’s rockets in our city and then we see the news that a rocket hit our city. Then we see that it was right in front of our house even, and we’re just hoping for an answer from our families."
Jumping into action, the two began collecting donations earlier this week in Detroit, racking up more than 2,000 items like medical equipment and tactical gear to be sent back home.
The two traveled to New York and put the items directly into the hands of soldiers heading back to Israel Friday.
"It was shocking to see how many people there are just going back," Mazingozny said.
The two says while they know the dangers that lie ahead for Mazingozny and the others who will fight alongside him, they both understand how important it is for the future of their nation.
"I was on the floor just balling my eyes out like please don’t go, don’t go, don’t go. Then all these videos get published of what’s going on over there and I told him you have to go. If you don’t go, then what are we fighting for," Mazin said.
"It was exhilarating, but that’s why I chose to be a combat soldier in the first place. We knew when this happens, I’ll have to be called back," Mazingozny added. "It’s very hard, but I know I’ll do very good over there because I have her prayers."
Mazingozny is set to be deployed Saturday night. Mazin says in the coming week, she hopes to return home to Israel and begin medical training to help in anyway she can.
