Briton stranded in Jerusalem during Iran attacks says city ‘like a ghost town'

Independent

a day ago

A British grandfather stranded in Jerusalem during a wave of Iranian missile attacks has described the city as a 'ghost town' and said he feels 'abandoned' by the Foreign Office.
James Eden, 72, from Newcastle upon Tyne, flew to Israel on Monday for a short pilgrimage to visit Christian sites he first saw two decades ago.
But what was meant to be a six-day trip turned into a crisis when air raid sirens woke him in the early hours of Friday when his flight home was cancelled following Israeli strikes on Iran and a barrage of retaliatory missiles.
'It feels very eerie, very strange – like a ghost town,' the grandfather-of-four said.
'Before, it was a hive of activity – cars everywhere, everyone having a good time.
'Now everything is shut down, just a few old people shuffling about.
'It feels a lot like the Covid lockdowns.'
The retired accountant, who travelled with his Hungarian friend Miki Mogyorossy, 49, from London, said the pair were enjoying the warm weather and had visited key religious sites including the Sea of Galilee and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
'We were only supposed to be here six days to see the sights,' Mr Eden said.
'At the time when I booked it there was no hint at all that this was going to start.
'The conflict with Iran has been on the table for 20 years – if you worry about it all the time you would never come here.'
But in the early hours of Friday, he was jolted awake by an emergency alert – written in Hebrew – on his phone.
'I didn't understand any of it, but once we spoke to some Israelis they told us it was a warning,' he said.
'The sirens were going off outside – we all rushed out of our rooms but were quickly told to get back to bed.
'We gathered in the stairwell because there was no basement and stayed there for 10 or 15 minutes.
'Then we had another notification saying we could go back to bed.'
By the morning, he said, 'everything was shut down – shops and offices all closed, restaurants all closed'.
Mr Eden and Mr Mogyorossy managed to find one restaurant open after scouring the city.
But as they were walking back to their hotel they saw a barrage of missiles coming across the sky.
'I was standing by a wall – the best place I could find – with a bit of an overhang.
'If any of those missiles had landed, there would have been a huge explosion.'
A second phone alert from Israel's home front command, this time in English, warned of incoming rocket and missile fire.
The notification gave just 90 seconds for the pair to reach shelter.
He said he did not believe any of the strikes landed in Jerusalem, but described the sky lighting up with interceptors from the Iron Dome defence system.
Footage taken by Mr Eden shows Iron Dome rockets taking out Iranian missiles overhead.
'I was shocked by the amount of missiles going over,' he said.
'Most people were in safe spaces. I didn't hear any explosions, just a lot of banging from the Iron Dome missiles.'
Despite the intensity of the situation, Mr Eden said he remained relatively calm – but fears he will run out of medication.
'At my age I have to take medication and I only have two weeks' supply,' he said.
'Now my flight's been cancelled. At any time there could be another strike.'
Mr Eden has been in contact with the British embassy but said he felt let down by the response.
'I've spoken to the Foreign Office – I've texted the embassy, given them my details,' he said.
'There is that sort of feeling that we've been abandoned – why has nobody rang me?
'I would like people to know I'm here. Just say 'we're on the case – give us three to five days, we'll come back'. If that was given, it would be good.'
He added: 'The nervous energy takes its toll on you. I was enjoying myself, but now I want to go home.'
'A friend said to me, 'You should have listened to me – why did you go?' But this threat's been around for 20 years.'
Despite the shutdown – he has still managed to find a restaurant that is serving a pint of Guinness.
'Somehow I've managed to find a pint of Guinness which I didn't think would be so easy,' he said.
'So it's not all that bad.'