UK foreign secretary runs for cover as siren goes off during Israel visit

UK foreign secretary James Cleverly, who is currently in Israel, ran for cover as sirens go off in the Jewish nation, according to the foreign ministry here on Wednesday.

Cleverly is in Israel to meet survivors of the Hamas attacks and senior Israeli leaders.

Posting a video on X, the Israeli foreign ministry said, "Watch: while UK FM @JamesCleverly visits Ofakim in southern Israel, a siren goes off warning of incoming Hamas rocket fire."
 

"This is the reality Israelis live with every day," it said.

 

Talking about the experience, Cleverly on X wrote that the threat of Hamas rockets lingers over every Israeli man, woman and child.

"Today I've seen a glimpse of what millions experience every day...This is why we are standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel," he said.

Israel, which mobilised 360,000 reservists, has vowed an unprecedented offensive against Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, after its fighters broke through the border fence and stormed into the country's south through air, land and sea on October 7.

On the fifth day, the Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, had been killed in Israel while in Gaza, 950 people had been killed, including 260 children and 230 women, according to authorities there.

Hamas is holding an estimated 150 Israelis hostages. The group continued to fire rockets at Israel, including a heavy barrage at the southern town of Ashkelon.