A British expat told last night how he and his son barely escaped with their lives after an Iranian missile exploded next to them in a bombing raid – as the first UK evacuation flight took off from Tel Aviv.
David Mason, 54, was lucky to survive Friday’s attack on Haifa, in northern Israel.
The Rochdale-born father, who has lived in the country for 35 years, was with son Itay, 16, when the alarms warned of enemy fire.
Unable to reach a shelter, they initially took cover with others underneath a bridge.
From his hospital bed, Mr Mason told the Mail last night: ‘We pulled over and ran for shelter but we had no idea where to run to, so we decided to run towards this bridge. There were a lot of people huddled under the bridge but I felt it wasn’t safe, because if the bridge collapsed we would all be history. I then saw an underground car park close by.
‘Just as I went to make a run for it with my son, there was this massive explosion. I’ve never heard anything like it in my life.
‘A missile had hit a building 30ft or so away from us. The debris went flying and all of it hit us including metal parts from the bridge. I thought we were dead.
‘There was a body under me and I thought it was my son. I started crying his name, it was absolutely horrific. I cannot describe the fear of thinking you have lost your child, it felt like for ever.
‘All of a sudden I saw him standing there with a bleeding giant hole in his neck. I went into dad mode, and tilted his head to the side and wrapped a shirt around him. He looked white as a sheet and was shocked.’
An ambulance took the pair to the Rambam Hospital in the Mediterranean port. Doctors said the shrapnel was close to killing Itay.
Mr Mason added: ‘My son has recovered enough to have been discharged. I am still recovering in hospital and waiting to see if my hearing has been damaged.’
At least 31 were injured in the missile attack on Friday, which coincided with attempts to broker peace with Iran in Geneva.
Meanwhile, an RAF flight for Britons yesterday left the Israeli capital for Cyprus with 63 on board. No 10 said ‘around 1,000’ had asked to be evacuated – a quarter of the 4,000 registered as being in Israel or Palestine since the conflict began. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the Commons more flights will be arranged based on ‘demand and the latest security situation’.
