British citizens in Israel call Iran air strikes ‘terrifying’ and ‘harrowing’
British nationals living in Israel spoke of the loud explosions they heard after seeking shelter in safe rooms.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.British citizens in Israel have described the missile strikes from Iran as “terrifying” and “harrowing” as they sought shelter in a safe rooms.
Gaby Young, 39, who is the sister of Nathanel Young who was killed on the Gaza border following the attacks of October 7, found shelter in a safe room with her husband and children after missiles from Iran hit Israel on Tuesday.
Ms Young, who is originally from Southgate, London, but now lives in Ra’anana, central Israel, described hearing loud “booms” of explosions, but said the missile strikes have become a daily occurrence for Israelis.
Speaking moments after leaving her safe room, she told the PA news agency: “The booms we heard were absolutely terrifying. We’ve got songs and YouTube to distract our children and we’re trying to stay calm ourselves, but we’re not calm.
“We heard at least 10 booms at a time, some of them closer and some of them further away.
“Unfortunately, it’s become part of everyday life, and obviously today was a lot more worrying because it’s a different level of the types of rockets that were used, coming from Iran directly, which are thousands and thousands of miles (away).
“I guess the only reason we’re fortunate or lucky is that we have the infrastructure that we have are safe rooms and safe places to go and shelters.”
Ms Young received a phone alert telling her she had “a minute and a half to get to a protected space”.
Meanwhile, her parents who moved to Israel from London last November, a month after Mr Young’s death, were driving home and “had to get into a ditch on the side of the road”.
She added: “They’re from England, like it’s their first time, they didn’t know what to do, so obviously that was terrifying for them.”
She said she feels the need to “keep a brave face” for her family, but wished her young children did not have to live in fear.
“I have two babies and some older kids as well and it’s terrifying for everyone because they feel the fear from their parents as well.
“Almost 20,000 rockets have been fired into Israel over the past year, so unfortunately my family are used to it, which shouldn’t ever be.”
Meanwhile, Simon King, 60, a British-Israeli living in Kibbutz Hatzerim, near Be’eri, south Israel, described seeing “orangey-white” explosions across the sky before finding shelter in his safe room with his children.
“It was like Guy Fawkes but only one colour. Orangey-white,” Mr King told PA.
“We saw ballistic rockets entering the atmosphere. I didn’t catch those on my little films, because I was on my bike trying to get back to the house quite quickly.
“You could see them exploding very high up.”
Mr King, who relocated to southern Israel in 1984, where he lived with his wife, Zehavit King, 51, and his two sons aged 14 and 15, said he heard a siren alarm seven times warning locals in his area to find a safe room, which shook from explosions.
“We heard some huge bangs and even the safe rooms shook and that’s concrete,” he said.
“It’s quite harrowing, actually, all of this stuff going on.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain stands with Israel and supports the “reasonable demand for the security of its people” after an attack on the country by Iran.