Missiles overhead, sirens blare, flights cancelled: What life looks like for over 40,000 tourists trapped in war-hit Israel
Air raid sirens have woken people in the middle of the night, many have rushed to bomb shelters, and some are now searching online for escape routes.
According to Reuters, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran early Friday, closing its airspace and asking people to stay indoors. Around 40,000 tourists are now stuck in the country, the
Ministry of Tourism
said. Many airlines have cancelled flights until further notice, forcing travellers to either wait or take expensive detours through nearby countries.
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Justin Joyner, a tourist from California, is visiting Jerusalem with his father and son. He told Reuters they were prepared for some problems due to the ongoing conflict with Hamas, but didn't expect a war with Iran.
'We didn't expect Israel to attack Iran. That is a completely different level of escalation,' Joyner said from his hotel in East Jerusalem, where Iranian missiles have been seen overhead at night.
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'It's unsettling to feel the shockwaves of intercepted missiles above you, and to take your family down to a bomb shelter. That's just something we don't think about in America,' he added.
Dr Greer Glazer, from Cleveland in the US, is in Jerusalem for a nursing training programme. She told Reuters she has to run down 10 floors to reach the shelter when sirens go off.
'I feel safe,' she said. 'But waking from a dead sleep and running to the safe room, that's been the hardest. My family is scared to death… They think it's 24/7 destruction, but it's not like that.'
Travelling through Jordan
Dr Glazer had planned to return home on 29 June but is now trying to leave earlier. The easiest way out is through land borders with Jordan and then a flight from Amman, where the airport is still working during the day.
Reuters also reported that US influencer Caitlyn Jenner, who had flown in for Tel Aviv's now-cancelled Pride Parade, left Israel through Jordan. Hours before, she had posted a photo of herself drinking wine in a bomb shelter, writing: 'What an incredible way it has been to celebrate Shabbat.'
But not everyone is trying to leave right away.
Karen Tuhrim, visiting from London to see her daughter in Tel Aviv, told Reuters: 'Within two days of being here, Israel attacked Iran. So now I'm stuck.'
She said Tel Aviv had taken direct hits from Iranian missiles, but she still felt safer being close to her daughter than watching the news from the UK.
'For me, personally, at the moment, I feel better being here than in London, watching it all on the news, knowing my daughter is here. So, for now, we're good,' she said.
Israel's Tourism Ministry has opened a 24-hour help desk in English and Hebrew to assist stranded tourists.
However, with museums shut, the Old City of Jerusalem closed to outsiders, and many shops locked, the situation remains tense.
'The streets and shops are empty,' local resident Anwar Abu Lafi told Reuters. 'People are yearning for a break, to find something good in this existing darkness. We are deluding ourselves into thinking that the future will be better.'
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