Tel Aviv residents take shelter at underground parking lot amid escalating conflict

Escalating conflict between Iran and Israel has forced Tel Aviv residents to seek safety in makeshift underground shelters following a wave of missile attacks.

Iran launched a barrage of missile attacks against Israel, just hours after the United States struck its nuclear sites on Sunday. According to Israel's Ministry of Health, at least 86 people have been wounded in the attacks.

In Tel Aviv, one of Israel's largest cities, a shopping mall's underground parking lot has been converted to a makeshift shelter. With tents, sleeping mats, and minimal supplies, it now serves as a fragile sanctuary for people seeking refuge from incoming rockets.

"Everything happened around Monday night, five days ago, because on Monday night there was a big missile that hit very close by in Pinsker Street. And many people who live here became much more afraid of what is going on in Tel Aviv and the central Tel Aviv and all that thing. And we got pictures of a lot of these parking lots that became shelters, that pretty much people, and also the underground light train, people sitting on the floor and not really having any minimal level of comfort, privacy, anything. People can come on a need basis, say 'can I stay here all night long?' can get a small tent with some mattresses and sleep for the whole night. Now what happened that on Tuesday? We finished building it about I'd say about 5:00. And few minutes later there was a missile and there was an alarm, and about 1,000 people came from the mall and from the neighborhood, came to the shelter," said an asylum seeker named Efraim.

For people who do not have a bomb shelter in their home, the parking garage has become a crucial place of respite.

"This is not bomb shelter. This is underground parking, but it's dangerous outside, because of Iran's attack. And so I don't have a shelter in my home at my flat, so I decided to be here on this dangerous and strange situation. I got this one and mattress. and here I feel more comfortable because this is the safe place. Although this is underground parking and here we have a lot of people who helps each other," said Marina, a local resident.

Tel Aviv residents take shelter at underground parking lot amid escalating conflict

Tel Aviv residents take shelter at underground parking lot amid escalating conflict

Tel Aviv residents take shelter at underground parking lot amid escalating conflict

Tel Aviv residents take shelter at underground parking lot amid escalating conflict

The death toll in Lebanon from Israeli attacks has climbed to 3,269, with 9,840 injured since March 2, Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said in statement on Wednesday, as Israel ramps up its military operations in the country.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that it struck more than 150 Hezbollah infrastructure sites and fighters during attacks in and around the southern Lebanese cities of Tyre and Nabatieh and in the Beqaa Valley in the east.

The IDF said it had issued evacuation orders for five towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health and National News Agency, the Tuesday night airstrikes killed at least 31 people, including children, and wounded 40 more. They said the Israeli forces struck areas near the Qaraoun Dam in the Beqaa Valley three times.

Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the IDF is expanding military operations beyond the so-called "yellow line," a buffer zone unilaterally established by Israel along its border with southern Lebanon, to counter the threat from drones launched by Hezbollah.

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect in April. Despite the truce, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon, while Hezbollah has launched attacks on Israeli military positions.

Lebanese death toll from Israeli strikes rises to 3,269 since March 2