DALLAS — Tight hugs and sighs of relief could be seen between friends and families welcoming home their loved ones.
On Wednesday, a group of students and staff from Dallas Baptist University returned home from Israel. The group flew to the Middle East on Sept. 29. The trip went south within days.
"Tense," said Kendalyn Burdett, a student at DBU. "It was very tense."
Burdett was part of the group that went to Israel. She said they were able to tour places like Nazareth, the Dead Sea and Jerusalem. Up until Oct. 7, Burdett said the trip was "amazing."
But it was that October morning, while preparing to go on a tour, that sirens began to blare.
Terrorist group, Hamas, began attacking southern areas of Israel with airstrikes and bombs. Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died, combined. Thousands others have been injured.
Burdett said when she and the DBU group heard the sirens, they quickly learned what was happening.
“We all began to cling to our faith really strongly. We weren’t going to let it take us down," Burdett said. "We were very aware of the situation but we were very encouraging to one another."
Jay Harley, VP of Student Affairs for DBU was also on the trip.
“At times you could hear the iron dome defense system intercept those rockets," he said.
Harley said he’s been to Israel more than 50 times, but an experience like this was a first.
"Unfortunately, it's part of real life for the Arabs, Jews, and others who live in Israel," said Harley.
Burdett's father, Roy, was there to welcome the DBU group and take his daughter home. He said he's relieved to have his daughter back on U.S. soil. Roy said he and his wife were sleepless, concerned for their child.
“We’re gonna try to just process this and take it one step at a time," said Roy.
Roy and the rest of his family credit DBU for being communicative and open about information they learned while in Israel as acts of war began to unfold.