PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Yarden Ben-David said his cousin had dreamed of getting married since they were kids. The war in Gaza did not get in the way of his decision to travel to Israel to be with family. He celebrated her bachelorette on Wednesday in Hod HaSharon and her wedding on Friday at a kibbutz.
Ben-David, 25, saw a fiery protest in Tel Aviv. He saw the pictures of the hostages Hamas fighters took on Oct. 7 lining up both sides of a pathway at Ben Gurion International Airport after he arrived on Monday and before he left on Sunday. But he didn’t feel like Israel was at war during his trip.
That was until Iran launched an attack on Israel.
“It’s unprecedented,” Ben-David said. “We were all on edge.”
Ben-David, a Local 10 News producer, reported on the impact that the Oct. 7 attack had on his fellow Israeli Americans in South Florida. On Sunday, he reported on how Iran’s attack affected fliers. He was at a TLV gate waiting to board an El Al flight to Miami International Airport when relatives called to warn him.
Before midnight, Ben-David boarded the El Al Flight LY017 to MIA with over 100 other passengers. He was on the plane waiting for about 45 minutes before takeoff. The clock was ticking and for some, the anguish was building.
“Everyone thought that we weren’t flying. There were some people that were frustrated because they wanted to get back,” Ben-David said. “I personally was a little bit stressed, you know. I was scared because you are about to go in the air while like drones are launching.”
To stay calm, Ben-David said he thought about the bomb shelter at TLV and about how he trusted the judgment of El Al employees and Israeli authorities. He said a couple of fearful Israeli-American newlyweds said they wanted to get out of the plane and stay.
“We thought that the airport was going to close at 12:30 a.m., but then the pilot went on to say that the airport was closing at 1 a.m.,” Ben-David said.
The plane departed TLV shortly before 1 a.m., on Monday, and landed at MIA at 7 a.m., Sunday, according to Ben-David. He said he felt a mixture of relief and guilt. His mother, who was also there to celebrate with family, isn’t set to fly back to MIA until April 25.
“My family is living in fear right now — not sure what Israel is going to do after the attack,” Ben-David said.
Israeli authorities reported Iranians injured a 7-year-old girl and damaged an Israeli Air Force base. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the success of Israeli defenses.
“We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win,” Netanyahu wrote on X.
President Joe Biden released a statement saying the U.S. military had moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to defend Israel before Iran’s attack.
“Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” Biden said.
Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wrote on X that Iran has “no intention of continuing defensive operations.”
The Times of Israel reported Sunday was the 191st day of the war in Gaza against Iran-allied Hamas fighters. The Israeli military has also been fielding attacks from Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the U.S. has been dealing with Iran-allied fighters in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
U.S. Navy sailor Michael Aregbesola, of Broward County, died last month in the Red Sea while responding to the Houthi fighters’ threat. After the interview on This Week In South Florida, Ben-David said his mother was safe with family in Israel and he wasn’t worried, just tired.
“All this attack has done is prove that Israel has strong allies,” Ben-Davis said. “It has shown that people around the world care about Israel.”
Israel reopened its airspace at 7:30 a.m.
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