TEL AVIV – Warren Cohn and Dahlia Bendavid are among the South Florida residents visiting Israel who have endured the third day of the deadly Iranian missile attacks.
Cohn, a father whose wife and kids are safe in Broward County, said that when the siren alerting the public about an attack goes off he runs from his hotel room to the nearest shelter in Tel Aviv.
With dozens of Iranian ballistic missiles getting through Israeli defenses, there have been so many sirens going off that Cohn was exhausted on Sunday.
“I would say last night was the most intense,” Cohn said. “Around 3 a.m., we felt the building shake from the interceptions overhead.”
The Israeli military closed all of the airports, and with no end in sight, Cohn celebrated Father’s Day away from his kids.
“Not knowing when you’re going to go home, not sleeping, even my little kids, the little little ones don’t know why daddy’s not coming home earlier. They don’t know what’s going on so I miss them terribly and I love them so much,” Cohn said.
Bendavid, who lives in Miami-Dade County, said the last few days have been terrifying.
“I’ve been in Israel before where I’ve experienced sirens but not at this level where it was constant and in the middle of the night,” Bendavid said. “I’ve heard the booms. I’ve heard loud booms where it was most probably the iron dome intercepting the missiles.”
The death toll on Sunday in Israel was 14, including children ages 9 and 10 in Bat Yam and a 13-year-old victim in Tamra. There were 390 injured, according to Israeli officials.
In Iran, officials reported on Sunday that since the Israeli attacks started on Friday the death toll was at 224 and 1,277 injured on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that intelligence confirmed Iran was going to give nuclear weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.
“We will do what we need to do,” Netanyahu said.
Israel has been at war against Hamas in Gaza since the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when South Floridians also suffered.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” President Donald Trump wrote on Sunday in a statement shared on social media.
The president also said he hopes Israel and Iran make a deal that will stop the conflict.
“We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump wrote. “Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”
Complete coverage: Here are the latest reports from Tel Aviv and Tehran
