Cafes shut, streets empty, soccer video games cancelled: The Hamas assaults have introduced the Israeli metropolis to a standstill.
Tel Aviv, Israel — The celebration’s on maintain in a metropolis that prides itself on its vibrant tradition and nightlife.
As Israel and Palestinian group Hamas commerce blows within the newest chapter of their rapidly escalating conflict, a surreal scene unfolded in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
The streets and seashores of the usually buzzing metropolis have been empty save for a number of bewildered vacationers.
A Swiss couple wandered round, confused. “Is all the things closed as a result of it’s Saturday, or as a result of it’s wartime?” considered one of them requested.
They needed to discover a spot to seize a fast chew close to Jaffa and weren’t certain why all the things was so eerily quiet.
In entrance of a closed cafe within the south of town, a number of Israelis sat collectively, smoking.
“I’ve acquired to get some air and see individuals with all this stress,” mentioned one to the opposite. They didn’t appear to know one another — they have been strangers introduced collectively by a shared anxiousness.
Mounting demise tolls
Early Saturday morning, Hamas had launched a shock assault on Israel. Hundreds of rockets have been launched, triggering sirens as far north as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and dozens of armed fighters entered southern Israel from the besieged Gaza Strip.
To date, a minimum of 70 Israelis have been killed within the assaults by Hamas, which mentioned it has additionally taken a “big number” of hostages into the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces launched air raids on Gaza, with about 200 Palestinians killed thus far within the densely populated enclave. A number of a whole lot have been injured. Israeli bombs focused two high-rise buildings in Gaza.
The variety of Palestinian and Israeli casualties is anticipated to rise because the preventing continues.
![A popular pedestrian street in the heart of Tel Aviv, completely devoid of people, on Saturday October 7, 2023.-1696679784](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/A-popular-pedestrian-street-in-the-heart-of-Tel-Aviv-completely-devoid-of-people-on-Saturday-October-7-2023.-1696679784.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C1027)
Nervousness, in parks and residing rooms
With the uncertainty surrounding the hostage depend and casualties in southern Israel, most individuals in Tel Aviv are staying of their residences. However some, just like the Israelis exterior the cafe, have been pushed outdoor by the stress.
In a small park, others reminisced concerning the 1973 October Struggle through which Israel needed to confront Egypt and Syria, a struggle whose fiftieth anniversary was commemorated a day earlier, on October 6.
Indoors, Tel Avivis are glued to their screens, ready anxiously to listen to from kin and buddies to verify they’re protected.
Soccer video games have been cancelled, as was the Worldwide Movie Pageant within the northern metropolis of Haifa, roughly 150km (93 miles) from Gaza.
In the meantime, the weekly protests against Israel’s judicial overhaul have been paused for the second time since they started in February.