BEVERLY HILLS, May 25, (THEWILL) – The Israel-Palestine conflict currently rocking the Gaza region came close to home recently when Israel-based Nigerian footballer, Ibezito Ogbonna, was fortunate to be alive to tell the story of how he survived a rocket strike fired from Gaza during the 11 days’ clash between the warring parties.
The former Nigerian Under-23 striker was reportedly at home in the city of Ashdod and with his family on Monday, May 17, when his apartment was directly hit by one of the rockets fired by Hamas militants. The resultant explosion left Ogbonna injured but his wife and children were spared.
Narrating his ordeal, the player was grateful to be alive: “I am extremely lucky to be alive after this rocket was fired and it’s third time lucky for me after being involved in a car crash and a horrible robbery incident in Nigeria.
“It is difficult to explain the impact of what I saw. Coming out of this was a miracle. We are talking about the same attack that has left several people badly wounded.”
The former Hapoel Tel Aviv forward did his best to piece together what exactly happened: “On this day I was having breakfast and I heard the wailing siren. Normally, we’d run to the shelter because every house has its own shelter. I felt it’s the normal warning, but within seconds it turned out to be an unlucky day for me.”
“I heard the loud bang of the rocket and felt the immediate impact, I was thrown into the air and it took me from my dining room to my living room.”
“I was in the hospital for a few hours. I was treated and had different tests just to check that everything was okay with me. They weren’t sure I was fine considering what had happened.”
It must have been one of some 3,150 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel by Hamas militants in the heat of the enduring hostilities. On their part, Israel’s army said about 460 rockets failed to reach their border and of those that did, their Iron Dome technology nullified many midair.
Yet, Ogbonna’s ordeal is proof that some settlements in Israel took the hit of the rockets that flew through the cracks of what Israel must have thought was an airtight defence system. Fortunately for the Nigerian family, there was no casualty to report.
Ogbonna was part of Nigeria’s 2006 Olympic qualifiers squad but he failed to make the cut for the country’s dream team that featured at the 2008 Olympics.
After an impressive form at home-based sides such as Enugu Rangers, Nigerdock, and Sharks FC, Ogbonna furthered his career by shipping abroad in 2003 where he featured for clubs in various countries such as South Africa, Romania, Albania, Kazakhstan, and North Macedonia.
His star of good fortune just be shining brightly as this is the third misfortune he has come out of with the ability to tell his own story, when the occasions of an auto crash and armed robbery he survived, are taken into consideration.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
