By Alexander Cornwell
TEL AVIV (Reuters) -Foreign nationals leaving Israel on Tuesday voiced both relief for themselves and anxiety for family and friends staying behind as uncertainty hung over the country hours after a fragile ceasefire deal with Iran was announced.
As part of evacuation plans organised by their countries’ embassies, two large groups of Canadians and Australians gathered at a hotel in Tel Aviv, the former to board a bus to Jordan and the latter a flight to Dubai.
“Now I know what being scared actually feels like. I don’t think I’ve known fear like this before,” said Tamar Banon, 32, a dual citizen of Canada and Israel who lives in Montreal and was visiting family when the air war broke out on June 13.
A ceasefire was announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in the early hours of Tuesday, but the situation remained tense with Israel accusing Iran of violating it and threatening retaliation. Iran denied the violation.
Banon said she remained worried for her family and for Israel as a whole. “I want them to have a good life without having to think about, you know, war and missiles and rockets.”
Israel started the war with the stated aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Its strikes killed hundreds of Iranian civilians as well as some senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, while damaging uranium enrichment sites.
Iran retaliated with missiles that forced people in Israel to huddle in safe rooms and bomb shelters, often several times in a single night or day. The strikes killed 28 people and damaged hundreds of buildings.
The United States entered the war at the weekend, unleashing 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on fortified, underground Iranian nuclear installations.
‘INCREDIBLY GUILTY’
Australian Mark Avraham, 40, had flown in from Sydney to visit family and friends and take part in Pride celebrations. Despite experiencing 12 days of war, he plans to emigrate to Israel soon, in part due to what he described as rising antisemitism back home.
“Two days before I left Australia, someone tried to run me over in their car while shouting antisemitic abuse,” he said.
“I feel incredibly guilty that I get to leave and they have to stay,” he said, referring to friends and family in Israel. “But I know that they will be safe and they will look after each other, and I will be back in less than 12 months to be with them.”
Fellow Australian Taiba Ash, 35, from Melbourne, had come to Israel for what was supposed to be a fun-filled family holiday. She was on a night out with her husband when the first air raid siren rang out to warn people to take shelter.
“We had no idea what to do,” she said, recounting how they ran back to their rental apartment, woke up their children and stood under the stairs in terror.
The family later found out there was a bomb shelter nearby, so for night after night they jumped out of bed to run there whenever sirens blared.
“It’s not safe for our kids to be here. It’s not safe for their emotional wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing. They are scared and nervous, and they feel our energy, even though we’re trying to mask it,” she said.
Ash had no regrets about leaving.
“I think what I’m most looking forward to going home to is a full night’s sleep.”
(Writing by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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