Feelings of fear have turned to relief for Australians who have fled the conflict in the Middle East, while thousands more wait to be airlifted and bussed out of harm’s way.
Yoash Dvir landed in Sydney on Wednesday evening after being evacuated from Tel Aviv earlier in the week and catching a commercial flight from Dubai.
Mr Dvir described the emotional decision to leave his parents in Israel to return to his concerned family in Australia.
“I left worried but by the time we took off, the United States had declared a ceasefire,” he told AAP on Thursday.
“So when I left, it was a relief.
“I didn’t have to be worried about my parents, but because I was also coming back home, the whole time I was torn.”
Mr Dvir was grateful to the government officials who facilitated his departure alongside those of other Australians in Israel.
“A lot of diplomacy and logistics goes behind it, and it’s not something that I take for granted, and I really am appreciative for that,” he said.
About 1000 Australians are still registered with the federal government for help to leave Israel, and another 3000 have asked for assistance to leave Iran.
A group of 119 Australians was evacuated from Israel to Dubai by the Australian Defence Force as the conflict with Iran ended following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire deal.
Another group of 29 people has been evacuated following a second assisted departure flight.
The 12-day war began on June 13 after Israel attacked military and nuclear sites in Iran, arguing Tehran was close to developing nuclear weapons, triggering waves of retaliatory strikes.
Following retaliatory strikes from Iran, the US president intervened to put an end to the escalating violence and achieve a truce.
Australian Iranian Society of Victoria vice president Kambiz Razmara said people wanting to leave Iran were struggling to get through to the crisis portal set up by the Australian government.
“I understand there are no evacuation flights through Iran for obvious reasons, the airspace still being closed, but I’m also not hearing anyone actually doing anything to provide for alternative options,” he said.
Mr Razmara said the work of Iran’s “tyrannical” regime meant those who managed to get out of the country had to live with the suffering of family members who remained.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is still trying to help Australians trapped in Iran, but has advised them to head to the border with Azerbaijan if they can.
Meanwhile, the sound of missiles striking apartment buildings near Or Kedem’s family home in Ramat Gan, in the Tel Aviv district, is a world away from his life with his wife and two children back in Victoria.
After three unsuccessful evacuation attempts, he hoped to finally make a flight on Thursday after Israel’s airspace reopened and commercial flights resumed operating.
“It’s not gonna be easy – I have a four-day trip until I’m gonna get home, but I will do everything to see my kids again,” Mr Kedem said.
Australian lawyer Leon Zwier said he would never again take for granted the ability to go to sleep without being woken by the sound of sirens or missiles.
What was meant to be a trip for a conference quickly became an unexpected insight into life in a war zone, before he booked the first flight home he could find through Thailand.
“Moments like this, you cherish life more than ever, and so it makes you appreciate things more than ever,” he said.
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