My husband Richard and I left Australia on 13 May 2025 for an exciting 5-week trip to Portugal and Spain, culminating in 2 weeks in Israel to visit our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren who have made Aliyah.
On the morning of Friday, 13 June 2025, we were woken by an extreme alert alarm to the news that Israel had attacked Iran, and we feared a strong retaliation. Israel has long been subjected to rocket fire from both Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups, so everyone is experienced in responding to the sirens. The Home Front Command issue warning messages about approaching rockets 10 to 15 minutes before their scheduled arrival. Red Alert sirens blare when you have 90 seconds to get to a safe place. Finally, another message is sent when it is safe to leave and resume normal life.
Many apartments have safe rooms, generally a bedroom which is a reinforced steel concrete box with an airtight door. Those people aren’t lucky enough to have a private safe room need to go to public shelters. Each time there was a warning message, I watched from the apartment window, as people walking purposely down the street to the public shelters and then back again after the all clear was received. How distressing to make that journey time after time, night after night.
Unfortunately, our Airbnb does not have a safe room, so we spend our nights in our daughter’s apartment. Every night, we go to bed hoping that we won’t be woken through the night, but of course that’s wishful thinking! On our first night, all 7 of us plus the dog scrambled into the room when we heard the Red Alert. We could hear the iron dome intercepting the rockets, which sounded very loud and very close. It was terrifying! It seems that the rockets come between two and four times a night. This night we were woken twice and in the safe room for about 20 minutes each time.
The next day, Tel Aviv was deserted with everything closed except for a couple of cafes.
For the second night we were much more organised. My grandchildren went to sleep in the safe room, so they wouldn’t be disturbed by the sirens. When the first Red Alert shrieked, we headed into the safe room and went straight into our designated spots. A little like a jigsaw puzzle because it is a small room. This time, we didn’t receive the all clear message, so we were there for nearly three hours! It was awful!
It brought back memories of my mother’s Holocaust story. My mother survived in Poland by hiding in a cramped servant’s room off the kitchen of her apartment, while the Poles who worked for the Gestapo, lived in another part of the apartment. Although our experience was mild compared to my mother’s, it gave me a whole new respect for what she had had to endure.
We now operate like a well-oiled machine! Even the dog, a beautiful border collie, runs to the Safe Room when she hears the Red Alert and makes sure that everyone is there.
Last night Richard and I asked the grandchildren whether they would like to get an ice cream after dinner. As soon as we stepped out of the front door, I felt a flood of anxiety. What would we do if a siren went off? Where should we go? What if we were not close to the public shelter near the ice cream shop? As we passed various apartment blocks, we noticed that the doors to many blocks were open. These doors are left open, so that passersby can use the basement shelters if they are caught outside during a siren. In times like these, Israelis look after each other.
We woke up this morning to the news of the US bombardment. Although this is a great thing for Israel and the world, I fear that we are likely to have a few difficult days ahead.
Who knows of any other country in the world where people have to live like this? It’s so hard to endure this pressure all the time. I truly admire the resilience and strength of the people of Israel.
Although I am anxious to get home, I can’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to my Israeli family. It is always hard to say goodbye, but even more so in these circumstances. Luckily, we will back in October for my grandson’s Bar Mitzvah!
