This is how Spaniards in Israel experience the war: "My young children see the sirens and going to the shelter as something fun"

Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel’s second-largest hospital, has 1,300 beds, with about 500 in underground wards and 300 protected in other areas, reflecting how staff now operate in protected zones amid Iranian missiles and Hezbollah projectiles.

“Conflict: Israelis under Iranian cluster bombs”

El Mundo

Dr. Luís Vegas, a Madrid-born anesthesiologist at the center, says the hospital received a war-prepared protocol a month before the conflict and staff know where to work and which rooms can be used.

El Mundo

He explains that the ICU and two internal medicine departments have been moved into a former parking area to avoid direct hits from missiles.

He emphasizes that operations are now conducted only in protected zones.

He and his wife Revital, a radiologist at the same center, live in Holon with their children, aged 2 and 4, who see the sirens and shelter as something fun, though nightly sheltering wears them out.

In Be’er Sheva, Lázaro Herrera, an Extremaduran who has lived in Netiv HaAsara and Sderot for 14 years, says on every floor of his building there is an air-raid shelter and notes that projectiles are more dangerous because there is little time to take cover after the warning about Iran’s ballistic missiles.

He stresses that Israelis want to live safely without the threat of Iran, regardless of political votes, and adds that if Israel and the U.S. started, they must finish so that nothing will be the same again, despite what he sees as a clear anti-Israel stance from the Spanish government.

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In June, a missile destroyed part of Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva.

Spain’s decision to recall its ambassador Ana María Sálomon Pérez in response to Israel’s 2024 actions sits within Pedro Sánchez’s government line following the Israeli offensive in Gaza after the October 7 jihadist attack, and has brought Spain–Israel ties to their worst crisis in four decades.

“Conflict: Israelis under Iranian cluster bombs”

El Mundo

Officials in Madrid have faced accusations of genocide, recognition of a Palestinian state, cancellation of arms contracts, and calls for boycotts and sanctions.

Israelis describe a shift in mood, with some expressing disappointment and questions toward the Madrid government.

Dr. Vegas expresses sadness about the situation and notes that Israelis worry about safety in Spain, while acknowledging Sánchez has a political position that Israelis generally tolerate.

Dani Benolol, born in Barcelona, describes an alliance between the militant left and anti-Israel sentiment, and says he and Sharon Shapira must shelter in the street.

Benolol and Shapira do not have a safe room and must go to the street shelter, moving quickly after the siren with a pre-alert on their phones.

Benolol jokes about exercising during the shelter routine but warns that a missile fragment hitting the roof would be devastating, and he recalls fear when a missile landed near his home in June.

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He says he handles it better now due to the defensive system and the absence of hostages.

Shapira notes that Israelis want to endure if Iran and Hizbullah threats are neutralized and sees U.S. involvement from the start as a key difference from June, while noting that many Israelis tend to forget what happened a week ago.