Powers heard the distant siren go off before. In fact, she hadn’t been in the country long when violence broke out between Israel and Palestine in May 2021.

But, unlike the conflict that prompted the warning two years earlier, Powers hadn’t received advanced notice of potential trouble.

“There was no knowledge of this,” she said. “Usually in the news, we hear some sort of issue. Maybe we’ll get rockets from Gaza and expect the siren — absolutely nothing. At first, I thought it was some sort of accident or mistake.”

She added, “I opened the door to go to the bomb shelter (and) nobody’s moving. So I look at my phone to see if maybe I missed something.”

Pictured is Megan Powers, a 2017 graduate of Southwestern Central School who is currently studying at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel. Photo by Megan Powers

It wasn’t until she got up at 9 a.m. that the 2017 Southwestern Central School graduate learned what was taking place: the Palestinian militant group Hamas had launched a surprise attack on Israel, leaving hundreds of soldiers and civilians dead.

“We finally realized what was going on,” Powers, 24, told The Post-Journal this week from her dorm room in Israel. “So then we got bombarded (with news).”

Reichman University is north of Tel Aviv, so Powers has mostly been witnessing the conflict from afar.

She’s previously experienced the country’s air defense system, known as the Iron Dome, in action and understands its role in intercepting and destroying short-range rockets and artillery shells.

“That’s all we can see from here,” she said of the Iron Dome, “and then you hear a loud boom, which is a little bit scary, but at least it means that it didn’t hit anything.”

Powers has lived in Israel for about three years. During that time, she’s made friends with members of the Israel Defense Forces; national military service is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18.

She’s been in contact with some of her friends since the violence broke out Saturday.

“It’s hard to know people, friends, who are going in — especially when you hear and see what’s happened to the hostages,” she said. “But I think we have a lot of faith in the IDF. A lot of reservists have been called up, I think thousands, if not tens of thousands.”

She added, “Everyone is excited to be going — I mean nervous and scared, but they’re ready to fight for their country. Everyone is very proud to be here and to be fighting for it. People who are abroad are wishing desperately that they could be back. Everyone would rather be here for this at least. So yeah, there’s a lot of national unity and solidarity going on.”

Powers’ mom, Mary, said her heart sank when she learned of the violence that had broken out this past weekend. She remembered her daughter calling her in 2021 to say she was inside a bomb shelter.

“The first time it happened when she was new, if it weren’t for the action of the other people, she might have been more panicked,” she said. “It was her first experience, but for them, it’s routine. They are trained and have this duty in the IDF. Their training and calmness kept her calm.’

Mary Powers said her “heart was broken” after watching videos of the destruction caused by Hamas. “It’s very volatile,” she said. “I caution people, this is not a video game. These are real people and real lives.”

Powers is among many international students at the university. At present, the campus is on lockdown with guards keeping a close eye on people leaving and entering the dorm rooms.

“I’ve only left once to get food because we were told to get supplies for 72 hours (Monday),” she said. “They’ve really locked things down, so it’s mostly just been staying at home and not going out.”

Hoping to become a political reporter one day, Powers said she feels “a bit useless being stuck in the dorms while everything is going on.”

She said, “I wish I could be doing something more. I’m going to be doing some volunteering … packaging food and supplies and sending it to the army in the south, because a big problem is there. There aren’t enough supplies. But yeah, I would say I would just like to write about it. I think that’s all I can do at this point.”

Powers believes the conflict is a “fight against antisemitism and a fight against hate.” She noted that civilians — including women, children and the elderly — have been killed and are being held hostage by Hamas.

“People are scared, but we will do whatever it takes to secure peace and return those hostages to their families,” she said.