Former Nigeria’s Under 23 striker Ibezito Ogbonna recently escaped death by the whiskers as his house in Israel was hit by a rocket fired Gaza levelling it to the ground.
The 38-year-old, who won the Israeli Cup with Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2006 and 2007, was at home with his wife and two young daughters when the building suffered a direct hit.
According to BBC Sport Africa, his family were unhurt, but Ogbonna was injured and taken to hospital following injuries sustained during the explosion that was part of a recent 11-day escalation in violence between Israel and Gaza.
He said he was extremely lucky to be alive after the rocket was fired and that it was third time lucky for him after being involved in a car crash and a horrible robbery incident in Nigeria.
Ogbonna said he and his family were aware of the attempt [possible strike] and that they always got the warning signs about possible missiles.
He added that they often heard sirens echoed across the city streets which tended to prompt people to rush to a shelter.
But he explained that on this day, he was having breakfast when he heard the wailing siren. Normally, saying that normally, they would run to the shelter because every house had its own shelter.
Ogbonna said he felt it was the normal warning, but that within seconds it turned out to be an unlucky day for him, as he heard the loud bang of the rocket and felt the immediate impact.
He said he was thrown into the air and that it took him from his dinning room to his living room.
According to him, he could see glasses and other objects flying around him as he hit the ground.
“I stood up to look around for my family. They were very lucky too, my wife had taken cover with my daughters, I think one of the doors landed on her.
“I could see the whole building was gone. We are talking about a four-storey building with about 30 people. The security doors between my kitchen and living room ripped out and everything totally wrecked.
“Cars were smashed and it was then I realised I had a cut and my knee was hurting badly before the paramedics took me in an ambulance to the hospital,” he explained.
Ogbonna said he was in the hospital for a few hours and that he was treated and had different tests just to check that everything was okay with him.
