Jonatan was born in Gothenburg but has dual citizenship and has been living in Israel for around five years, and says that he has never before experienced Israel as it is today.
– We are currently waiting for a retaliatory attack from Iran, Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Nobody knows the extent, he says and continues:
War between Israel and Hamas
Hezbollah leader: The war has entered a new phase
IDF: Hamas leader Mohammed Deif was killed in Gaza in July
– There is a great Israeli fear of a major war in which rockets rain down from various conflict areas.
Many Israelis have started bunkering down
Most Israelis are now tending to their shelters, setting up water and other supplies.
– It shows. When I went to my local grocery store today, you could only buy six water bottles, no more, per family. So it’s clear that it affects people, you think you need to bunker up.
He says that life in Israel has been affected ever since the Hamas attack on October 7.
– These 300 days have been extremely difficult, of course. Things look bleak for the Middle East and any kind of peaceful solution and now the escalation is higher than it has ever been before.
“Many yearn for a ceasefire”
Something that Jonatan thinks is important to remember is that since then the Israelis have lived in a trauma where Israelis are still being held hostage while a war is going on.
But although he thinks a lot about his son and says that no one wants one’s child to grow up in a war situation, he has no plans to move home.
– I grew up in Sweden and have not experienced a situation like this before. But it’s clear that I’m thinking about how it will develop and that’s where the big fear lies, says Jonatan.
“Not easy to just pick and pack”
For some time now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised against non-essential travel to the area. On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry tightened the advice and now it covers all trips to Israel.
– As the situation looks right now, when three countries can attack Israel, it is a reasonable reason not to go here. I myself live here, I have my family here, and it is not so easy to just pick up and pack and go. I’m not sure I’ve gotten there yet.