For the next few hours, at least, the 34-year-old event planner wouldn’t have to run every time a siren warned of incoming Iranian missiles.

Since the war began a week ago with Israeli airstrikes on Iran, families with young children, foreign workers, and young professionals have been bringing mattresses and sleeping bags, snacks, and even pets into the stations each night. On Wednesday night, in a station that straddles Tel Aviv and neighboring Ramat Gan, parents tucked their children in with stuffed animals, while young adults fired up tablets loaded with movies. Many arrived carrying boxes of pizza. Volunteers set out snacks and coffee.

It was Melech’s first night sleeping in the brightly lit train station, and she was joined by her friend Sonia Shraibmen. “We’re not sleeping because of the anxiety and the sirens that go off during the night,” said Shraibmen. “It’s very scary to have to run to the shelter every time.” That morning, Shraibmen had fallen in the street while rushing to a nearby shelter, and she decided to move somewhere she wouldn’t have to jump up and flee each time her phone blared a warning. Melech said the scene—hundreds of people in their pajamas gathered in the station—reminded her of her grandfather’s stories from World War II.
 “Now, we’ll be able to tell our grandkids about this,” she said. The war between Israel and Iran began on June 13, when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, as well as top generals and nuclear scientists. (Jamaica Gleaner)