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Running From Rockets — a Moment of Reality in Israel (VIDEO)
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows people stand around apparent remains of a ballistic missile lying in the desert, following an attack by Iran on Israel, near the southern city of Arad, Israel October 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
What’s it like to dodge missiles in Israel?
Tuesday evening, sirens sounded throughout central Israel — all the way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv — indicating incoming missiles from the Houthi terror organization in Yemen.
The Houthis’ official motto is “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.”
All modern homes and buildings in Israel are required to have a bomb shelter, though in some older buildings, residents might have to settle for taking shelter in a stairwell or in a nearby public shelter located outside of the apartment building. By contrast, many modern homes have a bomb shelter located within each apartment, which is often used as an office or a spare bedroom in more peaceful times.
In my residence (a multi-story building), we have one bomb shelter on every floor. For me, that is about a 20 second walk — as a rule, the sirens in Tel Aviv sound 90 seconds prior to the expected impact, which gives me plenty of time to get to safety. However, on Tuesday night, I was having dinner with a friend at an outdoor cafe in nearby Ramat Gan. The only outdoor bomb shelter in the vicinity was already full, so we had to move quickly to find an alternative.
As a last resort — for example, when one is in an open area — the instructions are to lay flat on the ground, face down, with fingers interlaced behind the back of the head. The logic is that nearby shrapnel typically has an upward trajectory. Of course, in the case of a direct hit, none of that will help, so laying out in the open is a rather difficult and unsettling experience.
As you can see in the following video, we contemplated that option, before deciding we could make it to a nearby residence in time, if we moved quickly.
We were in good company that day, as (elsewhere in Israel) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, were also rushed to bomb shelters.
A variety of missile defense systems protect Israel: the Iron Dome is designed for short range rockets, such as those out of Gaza, while the Israeli “Arrow” and the American “THAAD” systems are designed for long range ballistic missiles, such as those launched by the Houthis in Yemen. However, no system is perfect, as we saw earlier this month, when a missile struck just outside Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, injuring seven.
Even when the defenses work perfectly, the impact will often produce a rain of shrapnel, which can be deadly if one is standing directly under it, as seen in this tragic video from the Iranian assault on Israel last October. For these reasons, missile defense systems are no substitute for bomb shelters, and the danger is quite real.
Below is a zoomed in “Red Alert” map of the immediate area around Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan (the location of the above video). As you can see, there were alerts in almost every neighborhood and locality.
Shortly after finding shelter, we heard a distant “boom,” indicating that the defense systems had struck the incoming missile. We waited a few minutes longer in case of shrapnel or additional missiles, and then returned to our dinner. I told the waitress that we hadn’t actually ordered the siren and would like to return it. (Sometimes, a little dark humor seems to help.)
It’s important to emphasize that Israel is fighting an entirely defensive war on seven fronts, against internationally-designated terror organizations committed to Israel’s total destruction.
Some of these terror organizations are linked to ISIS or Al-Qaeda, and many espouse Nazi ideology, including studying Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Israel has reiterated time and again that it is willing to end its defensive military actions in Gaza at any moment, if Hamas will only release the remaining hostages and remove itself from power. So far, Hamas, and its allies in the region, have refused to do so, and their attacks on Israel continue.
It is also important to note that while attacks by the Houthis and other organizations target all of Israel, Israel’s response focuses on rocket launchers, military infrastructure, as well as air and sea ports that are used to support terror activity, often with advance warnings to protect civilians. Israel is not bound by the US/Houthi ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump last week, and Israel is considering expanding its response to include Iranian targets, as Iran is the primary source of military support behind the Houthi attacks.
Fortunately there were no deaths reported on Tuesday, and only minor injuries sustained from the rush to bomb shelters (not from the missiles themselves).
Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.
The post Running From Rockets — a Moment of Reality in Israel (VIDEO) first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hezbollah Chief Makes Overtures to Saudi Arabia for Front Against Israel
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers a speech from an unknown location, Nov. 20, 2024, in this still image from video. Photo: REUTERS TV/Al Manar TV via REUTERS.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday urged Saudi Arabia to turn “a new page” with the Iran-backed terrorist group and set aside past disputes to create a unified front against Israel, following years of hostility that strained Riyadh’s ties with Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states designated Shi’ite Hezbollah a terrorist organization in 2016. In recent months, Riyadh has joined Washington and Hezbollah‘s rivals within Lebanon in pressuring the Lebanese government to disarm the Islamist group, which was badly weakened by last year’s war with Israel.
In a televised address on Friday, Qassem said that regional powers should see Israel, not Hezbollah, as the main threat to the Middle East and proposed “mending relations” with Riyadh.
“We assure you that the arms of the resistance [Hezbollah] are pointed at the Israeli enemy, not Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, or any other place or entity in the world,” Qassem said.
He said dialogue would “freeze the disagreements of the past, at least in this exceptional phase, so that we can confront Israel and curb it” and said that pressuring Hezbollah “is a net gain for Israel.”
Saudi Arabia once spent billions in Lebanon, depositing funds in the central bank and helping rebuild the south after a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel – only to see the group grow more powerful in Lebanon and the region with Iran’s help.
Relations soured sharply in 2021 when Sunni Saudi Arabia expelled the Lebanese ambassador, recalled its own envoy, and banned Lebanese imports. A statement in Saudi state media at the time said Hezbollah controlled the Lebanese state’s decision-making processes.
Hezbollah‘s then-secretary general Hassan Nasrallah called Saudi Arabia‘s crown prince Mohammad bin Salman a “terrorist” and repeatedly criticized Saudi‘s role in Yemen.
But recent months have seen seismic political shifts in the region, with Israel pummeling Hezbollah last year and killing Nasrallah, and rebels toppling the group’s Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad in December.
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UN Security Council Decides Not to Lift Iran Sanctions
Members of the UN Security Council vote against a resolution that would permanently lift UN sanctions on Iran at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council did not adopt a draft resolution on Friday to permanently lift sanctions on Iran, but Tehran and key European powers still have eight days to try and agree to a delay.
The 15-member UN Security Council was required to vote on the draft resolution on Friday after Britain, France, and Germany launched a 30-day process on Aug. 28 to reimpose UN sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers that aimed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies having any such intention.
Russia, China, Pakistan, and Algeria voted in favor of the draft text on Friday. Nine members voted against and two abstained.
The Security Council vote has now set up a week of intense diplomacy while world leaders – including Iran‘s President Masoud Pezeshkian – are in New York for the annual high-level UN General Assembly.
IRAN SAYS VOTE OUTCOME ‘WEAKENS DIPLOMACY’
“The door for diplomacy is not closed, but it will be Iran, not adversaries, who decide with whom and on what basis to engage,” Iran‘s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told reporters after the vote.
Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet with his European counterparts in New York next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he said, adding that Friday’s divided vote showed there was “no consensus in the council.”
“This decision weakens diplomacy and risks dangerous consequences for non-proliferation,” Iravani said.
Britain, France, and Germany have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months – to allow space for talks on a long-term deal on Tehran’s nuclear program – if Iran restores access for UN nuclear inspectors, addresses concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engages in talks with the United States.
“Without these most basic conditions being met, there is no clear path to a swift diplomatic solution,” Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council. “We are ready for further engagements, diplomatically, in the next week, and beyond to seek to resolve differences.”
Any delay on reimposing sanctions would require a Security Council resolution. If a deal on an extension can’t be reached by the end of Sept. 27, then all UN sanctions will be reimposed.
US REMAINS READY TO ENGAGE, ENVOY SAYS
Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said that while the US voted “no” on Friday, it “does not impede the possibility of real diplomacy,” adding that a return of sanctions on Iran “does not preclude later removal through diplomacy.”
“More importantly, President Trump has continued to reiterate the United States’ ongoing readiness for meaningful, direct, and timebound dialogue with Iran – be it prior to the conclusion of the snapback process on Sept. 27, or after,” she told the council.
French UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said that since the 30-day process – known as snapback – was triggered, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Britain had met twice with their Iranian counterpart.
“Our hand remains outstretched to find a negotiated solution,” he told the council before the vote.
Separately, Iran‘s strategic allies Russia and China finalized a draft Security Council resolution late last month that would extend the 2015 deal for six months and urge all parties to immediately resume negotiations. But they have not yet asked for a vote.
Russia and China, which are also parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, have both rejected the Europeans’ bid to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran.
China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong said the attempt to trigger snapback was “detrimental to the diplomatic effort towards an early resumption of talks, and may even bring about catastrophic consequences that are impossible to foresee and forfeit years of diplomatic efforts in one stroke.”
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Japan Plans Not to Recognize a Palestinian State for Now, Foreign Minister Says
Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya attends the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain/Pool
Japan does not plan to recognize a Palestinian state at UN meetings this month, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Friday.
But he also said that for Tokyo, which supports a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, it is not a matter of whether to recognize a Palestinian state, but when to recognize it.
“I’m aware voices calling for the recognition as a state are getting louder in the international community as well as in Japan,” Iwaya told a press conference.
“But the government has a responsibility to look hard into what will really lead to a two-state solution and to make diplomatic efforts towards that direction.”
A handful of US allies are preparing to recognize a Palestinian state as world leaders meet at the UN General Assembly in New York next week in the hope of putting pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and seek long-term peace.
Iwaya said Japan does not condone Israel’s unilateral action such as the expansion of its military operations in Gaza, and that Japan will respond if Israel takes further steps that would close the way to the realization of a two-state solution.
Asked if the Japanese response would include sanctions against Israeli ministers over the conflict in Gaza, Iwaya said the government will not exclude any options, including the recognition of a Palestinian state, in weighing its potential moves.