Trump was boasting of his ceasefire deal. In my Tel Aviv bunker, it was a different story

The Age

3 hours ago

Among those queuing up for a blue wristband granting a seat on an evacuation flight are Melbourne parents Ilana and Levi Lewis, cradling their two children, aged two and four months. They came to Ashkelon, in southern Israel, to visit family and have spent the past two weeks sleeping in bunk beds in a bomb shelter as Israel and Iran have traded rocket fire. The Lewis' relatives in Australia, watching the news from the Middle East, are desperate for them to return home. 'They've been messaging us, they are very worried,' Ilana says. 'It's been very stressful. We wanted to get out as soon as we can.'
For others, it's a more complicated decision. Many of those who have expressed an interest in leaving are Israeli-Australian dual nationals, and some have deeper ties in Israel than Australia. Some Australians arrived at the hotel this morning intending to go, but decided they did not want to leave Israel. As with the evacuation of Australians from Beirut during last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, the no-show rate has been high.
Vivien, a Jewish woman from Sydney's eastern suburbs, is trying to return home after spending two weeks volunteering with the Women's International Zionist Organisation at a farming co-operative near Haifa in the country's north. Aged in her 60s, she says she feels transformed by what she has experienced in Israel, her first visit since her student days. 'In Australia we live in an isolation chamber,' she says, describing the relative sense of safety and security at home.
Praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and kill top Iranian military leaders, she says: 'The world needs to recognise Israel for what it is doing for them … We need to avoid a nuclear war.'
Nearby, two men are doing morning prayers and wrapping leather straps around their arms as part of an ancient Jewish ritual known as tefillin. They had hoped to travel on yesterday's cancelled evacuation flight and are nervously awaiting confirmation that they can get out today.
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As the buses of hopeful evacuees leave the hotel for the airport and pass along the seashore, the Israeli government issues a statement announcing it has achieved its primary war goals and has agreed to a ceasefire with Iran.
Less than an hour after the announcement, warning alerts begin sounding throughout the north of the country, sending Israelis scampering to bomb shelters once again. Accusing Iran of breaching the truce agreement by firing missiles into Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz quickly announces he has instructed the Israeli military to 'continue the intense activity of attacking Tehran'. For all the talk of a ceasefire, today the conflict has felt very real.