How Israelis cowered in a night of terror after Iran attacked Israel with 200 missiles

My friend Naomi was on the bus on the way home when the sirens started blaring throughout Tel Aviv. Her experiences are harrowing.

“Suddenly our phones vibrated with warnings, the bus was evacuated and we all had to hide behind the bus shelter,” she says, sobbing.

“There were two little children huddled next to me and their mother covered their heads with her arm.”

When the rockets stopped after a while, Naomi and the other passengers got back on the bus. Moments later the barrage started again.

“We ran under a bridge this time,” Naomi said. ‘We could see the missiles flying through the air above us. Each time one was hit by a defensive iron

Dome rocket, the boom was so loud the ground shook.”

Dramatic footage shows rockets exploding near Tel Aviv

Citizens seek shelter as Iran fired ballistic missiles into Israel on October 1

This photo shows projectiles intercepted by Israel near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1

After a few more minutes, Naomi, 32, got back on the bus. They were driving along the highway when the rockets started raining down on them for the third time.

‘We were like sitting ducks. You couldn’t go anywhere. We were lying on the side of the highway under some bushes and I was shaking,” she said.

“I video-called my mother because I was terrified. And I just started praying – saying the Shema [the last thing a Jew is supposed to say before death] and scream and cry. I told her I thought I was going to die. And I kept saying I’m going to die here. I’m dying. I don’t want to die.’

After over an hour it stopped. For now.

It’s a story that so many Israelis will recognize after Iran lashed out with a massive missile attack last night.

And like many with friends and family in Israel, I have been gripped by fear in recent days, fearing that such an attack might occur.

Just after 5.15pm UK time I received my first text from Israel.

Dozens of WhatsApp groups with all the same frantic questions: ‘Are you in a shelter?’ “Are you safe?” “Is everything okay?”

This photo shows projectiles intercepted by Israel over Tel Aviv on October 1, 2024

People take cover behind vehicles under a bridge on the side of a highway in Tel Aviv on October 1

Men, women and children took shelter as air raid sirens sounded throughout Israel

The Israeli military stated that Iran has launched missiles towards the State of Israel

But this was frighteningly different from the thousands of rocket attacks that Israelis have unfortunately become accustomed to over the past twelve months.

That’s because it was Iran that decided to launch nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, forcing millions of civilians — including dozens of my family and friends — into bomb shelters.

This is only the second time that Iran has attacked Israel directly with missiles, rather than using one of its proxy groups.

An earlier attack in April was mercifully frustrated by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. Just after 5 p.m. local time, gunmen opened fire on innocent civilians on Jerusalem Boulevard in the port city of Jaffa.

Devastating images of groups of dead bodies strewn across the sidewalk began circulating on WhatsApp.

At the time the Mail went to press, at least six people had been killed and ten injured. Immediately I texted my family group chat: “Checking to make sure no one is in Jaffa or Tel Aviv.” My aunt replied that she was home safely. ‘Don’t go outside!’ my grandmother added nervously.

Then my “Red Alerts” app – which alerts users to the location of rocket attacks in Israel – started flashing.

When I clicked on the app, the entire map of Israel was covered by these red warning signs. Tel Aviv. Jerusalem. Ra’anana: It is predicted that they will all be hit by missiles within minutes.

Projectiles fly in the air after Iran fires a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces

Iranians celebrate in the streets after a barrage of rockets was unleashed on Israel

This photo, taken on April 14, 2024, shows flares from explosions in the skies over Tel Aviv as Israel’s anti-missile system intercepts missiles and drones from Iran

Israeli police inspect a crater left by an exploded projectile in a badly damaged school building in Israel’s southern city of Gedera

The rocket attack came as Israeli police fought a terrorist attack in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv

Many rockets fired from Iran are seen over Jerusalem from Hebron, West Bank

As I zoomed in on the map, I could see that many of the areas indiscriminately targeted by Iran’s terrorist missiles were filled with my loved ones – waiting expectantly in shelters.

It’s hard to express the panic of knowing your family and friends are trapped in a country engulfed in deadly fire.

“It’s terrible to see,” my mother messaged in the chat as her sister (my aunt) hid in a bomb shelter with her husband and three of her children.

These deadly ‘fireworks’ were also filmed as they hovered over Jerusalem – the holiest place for so many religions.

Meanwhile, my cousin, who studies at a religious university or “Yeshiva” in northern Israel, started sending shocking videos of rockets flying nearby, with the caption “non-stop boom!”

“Stop filming and go to the shelter!” my aunt responded in panic. But the trauma for so many Israelis will continue long after this night of terror.

“It’s so sad what happened,” my 14-year-old niece messaged me around 7:45 p.m., as she came home from the shelter.

I had no real reassuring words for her.

“I know, my love. It is.’