Stranded Britons struggle to leave Israel as Iran's missiles fall
The first siren sounded at 10pm on Friday, and Zach Margolin knew that his holiday was over.
The online comedian, 31, from north London, had flown out to Tel Aviv on June 4 to celebrate his birthday and make videos for his social media pages but is now one of thousands of Britons wondering how they will get home.
'It's really frightening,' he said on Sunday. 'We could hear enormous explosions, we could hear the Iron Dome flying up and then the building shaking. Last night was the most I've seen, it's proper explosions.'
He also faces missing his sister's wedding next weekend and has booked himself on to three flights on June 18, 19 and 20 to give himself the best chance of getting home.
On the first night of Iranian bombardment on Friday, he left his central Tel Aviv Airbnb at 10pm, 1am and 5am to head to safety as sirens warned of missiles heading towards Israel's biggest city.
• Israel travel advice: is it safe to visit right now?
Iran had launched 150 ballistic missiles and 100 drones in retaliation for strikes on its military infrastructure. At least 13 people, including three children, were killed in Israel in the first two nights of strikes, and Israel shut the skies to civilian planes.
'You'd be crazy not to be afraid. I've been to Israel many times during sirens, and the usual protocol is you go in the shelter, wait ten minutes and then go out, but this is a different beast,' he said. 'It's not one missile from Yemen or rockets from Gaza, it's hundreds of ballistic missiles coming from Iran.'
He was one of several people to call for the Foreign Office to charter its own planes to bring Britons home. Israel's airspace is closed, along with any land routes out of the country.
'Ideally the UK government should be putting on a repatriation flight,' Margolin said. 'The only update [from the Foreign Office] is don't go to Israel.'
Thousands of Britons are said to be stuck in the country with air raid sirens again sounding on Sunday afternoon in Tel Aviv. The Foreign Office warned the situation could 'deteriorate further, quickly and without warning'.
• 1,200 miles apart, two cities quake as missiles rain down
Retired accountant James Eden, 72, flew to Israel last Monday for a six-day Christian pilgrimage, but he now finds himself trapped, with missiles flying overhead and outbound flights suspended.
The grandfather, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, said he was weighing up an escape through the Negev desert by bus, to try to get to Egypt.
'The [Foreign Office] rang me and said there wasn't a lot they could do,' he said. 'They're not going to stop me [leaving by land] — but they're not going to help me get out of Egypt either.'
The journey would mean a four-hour bus ride to the southern border town of Eilat, before crossing into Egypt and trying to fly home from Sharm El-Sheikh.
Social media sites are filled with claims that it is possible to get home by crossing the land border to Sharm El-Shaikh to catch flights, or by taking a boat to Cyprus, although all those The Times spoke to were choosing to remain in Israel.
One family, writing on Facebook, claimed they had spent £400 on taxis to get to Sharm El-Shaikh airport, on the Sinai peninsula, where the price of flights had more than doubled to £350.
Max Radford, 52, from London, feared his stay in Israel would be 'indefinite' and called on the government to bring planes to Cyprus in preparation for a window to fly into Israel.
The British father-of-two travelled to Israel earlier this month to attend two weddings and is now stuck in a suburb of Tel Aviv with his parents, who are in their late 70s.
'There is absolutely no question that the British government should be putting on repatriation flights,' he said. 'They should know that there are thousands of Brits here that are stranded. They need to do something. There is no airline that can do it.'
The consultant for technology start-ups said the experience had been 'intense', adding: 'I had a very nearby explosion the night before last when I was in Tel Aviv.
'You never know what comes next, we've no idea about tonight and we really don't know how long we're here for. It's kind of indefinite.'
Charlotte Henry, a journalist who runs The Addition newsletter and has previously contributed to Times Red Box, travelled to Tel Aviv to cover the aborted Pride celebrations.
During a phone call with The Times on Sunday, the siren sounded and she had to join dozens of hotel guests in a shelter where Israelis set up camp with bedding, or sang to pass the time.
'It's a bit disconcerting when you hear great big bangs overhead,' the 37-year-old, from London, said. 'The main thing is you don't just relax, you don't go to bed and relax because you're waiting for the siren to go off.'
She said, for now, she does not have a plan to leave Israel. 'There was some discussion about people going to Jordan, but I don't know how stable that situation is,' she said. 'I feel safer staying in Israel.'
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, reiterated that the government's official advice is to avoid travelling to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. 'My message to British nationals there is clear: your safety remains our top priority. Follow our travel advice for the latest updates,' he said.
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