A South Florida city commissioner, currently in Israel, is speaking out about the moment the retaliatory attacks from Iran occurred.
Aventura City Commissioner Paul Kruss said he’s been in Israel visiting family since Tuesday, and everything was normal until the sirens started blaring.
Speaking with 7News on Friday, Kruss showed one of the safe rooms in his hotel.
“You see, we go down the hallway here,” he explained.
Entering a safe room is a fact of life in Israel. Since his stay there, he’s had to enter it a few times already.
Kruss said the first time was when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear sites, scientists and military leaders on Thursday.
“Last night we were awoken a couple of times with alarms, so we have to go to the safe room in our hotel in Tel Aviv,” he said.
On Friday, when Iran decided to retaliate against Israel, Kruss said he found shelter in a reinforced safe room in his relative’s home.
To prove how hardened the room is, Kruss said he couldn’t hear the outside world while inside.
In the days leading up to the attack, Kruss said, Israelis were going about their day as they normally would — however, always being close enough to a bomb shelter in case the air raid sirens and phone notifications begin to go off.
“First thing we did is unpacked and took a walk on the beach, along the beach, and saw, you know, literally thousands of people there doing exercise, living their life like they always do,” he said.
Seeking safety in her hometown is common for Dahlia Bendavid, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Director of the Israel and Overseas Department.
“We woke up, ran into the shelter, and since then couldn’t go back to sleep, and then sirens started,” she said.
She described the scary moments when she had to enter the bomb shelter due to the missile attacks.
“The alarm started going off like crazy. I spent over an hour in a shelter this evening. It’s very terrifying. I am just here as a visitor and have a lot of stress and anxiety hearing it. I’m thinking about the people who live here and experience this day in and day out,” said Bendavid.
Kruss wants Americans back home to know that while running to shelter is nothing new to Israelis, it’s no way to live.
“And that’s what I want the American people and our friends in Miami and around the country to understand, that Israel is in a very tough position. There’s no one I know here from left to right, politically speaking, ideologically speaking, that doesn’t want peace. Everybody wants peace,” he said.
Those living in Israel say the time one has to get to a shelter depends on where the rockets are coming from. Some say if the rockets are coming from Gaza, they only have 15 seconds, while others may have 30 seconds.
Kruss said he will remain in Israel with his family for the next few weeks.