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Indian travel influencer stuck in Israel shares video of missiles, sirens and bomb shelters: 'Crazy experience'
An Indian travel influencer stranded in Israel shared a video of sirens, missile interceptions and people rushing to bomb shelters amid US, Israel-Iran war.
An Indian travel influencer stranded in Israel has shared a video showing what life looks like amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The clip captures warning sirens, people rushing to bomb shelters and flashes in the night sky believed to be missile interceptions.
Soumil Agarwal, who had travelled to Israel as a tourist, said he got stuck in the country after tensions escalated. In a video posted on Instagram, he described the experience as surreal and unexpected.
“Itni badi war chal rahi hai aur main Hindustani jo yahan ghoomne aaya tha, yahin akela phas gaya hoon. 28 February ko jab main Israeli hotel mein utha, toh har jagah siren baj rahe the, phone mein bhi.” (A war of such a massive scale is going on, and I, an Indian who had come here to travel, ended up getting stuck here alone. On February 28, when I woke up in my Israeli hotel, sirens were blaring everywhere, even on my phone.)” he said in the video.
Agarwal said he soon realised that the war had begun and that people were required to immediately move to shelters whenever sirens sounded. “Pata chala ki war chalu ho chuki hai. Toh agle kuch dino ka process tha ki jaise hi siren baje, tum apne room se bhaago aur bomb shelter mein jao.” (That’s when I found out that the war had begun. For the next few days, the routine was that as soon as a siren went off, you had to run out of your room and head to the bomb shelter)” he explained.
The video showed scenes from the city as warning alarms echoed in the background and residents moved calmly towards shelters. In the clip, Agarwal also interacted with locals and asked if they felt afraid. According to him, many residents said they trusted their country’s army and were not panicking.
Despite the tense situation, Agarwal said conversations with locals helped him stay calm.
“Par phir yahan ke logon se jab baat kari, hasi mazak kiya, toh main bhi chill ho gaya. Yahan ke log bahut sweet hain. Pichle chaar dino se mujhe bilkul darr nahi lag raha hai, aur yahan ke logon ki positive energy ne mujhe itna positive bana diya hai ki yahan par main Holi ke bajaye Diwali enjoy kar raha hoon.” (But then, when I started talking to the people here, joking and laughing with them, I became calm too. The people here are very sweet. For the past four days, I haven’t felt scared at all, and the positive energy of the people here has made me so positive that instead of Holi, I feel like I’m celebrating Diwali here)” he said.
(Also Read: Indian-origin CEO stranded in Dubai slams US evacuation response: 'I feel demoralised and abandoned')
Social media reactions
The video quickly gained attention online, with many users urging him to stay safe.
“Hoping things are back to normal very soon. Stay safe!” wrote one user.
“It sounds so thrilling,” another commented.
“War-zone reels were NOT in the itinerary. Take care please,” said a third user.
“War normalisation peak. Stay safe bro! Hoping for the war to stop… at least for 2–3 days so that you can come back,” wrote another.
