DETROIT (WXYZ) — Hannan Lis and his wife Lisa's roots are in Michigan. But he said they moved to Tel Aviv — Israel's capital — during COVID-19 to be closer to their kids and grandkids. That's where he said missile strikes have become periodically routine but still deadly.
"The closest (missile strike) be about less than a mile, during the war in June," Lis recalled.
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For that reason, as soon as our interview started, we had to cut it short.
“Unfortunately, in about a few minutes, we’ll have to go into the safe room," he explained to 7 News Detroit.
During the interview, Lis received a notification that a missile was headed towards Israel.
“This is a missile from Iran," he said. "It's something that we knew this day will come," Lis said.
On Saturday when the war between Iran and Israel and the United States started, he said he headed to the safe room, or bomb shelter, about 10 times that day. His wife chronicles her experience on social media.
"We’ve had this (chaos) since Oct. 7," he said.
Oct. 7, 2023, is the day war broke out between Israel and Hamas. He said Israeli’s have made use of apps that alert them to missiles launched in their direction ever since.
“Oh, it just went off. Sirens just went off. So, I got to go. Talk to you later," he said.
After 15 minutes in his safe room, Lis messaged 7 News Detroit that it was safe for him to resume the interview.
"We heard the interception. There’s an impact. It depends on how close it is. You hear the impacts," he explained. “Almost all the missiles do get intercepted."
“If we didn’t have the interceptors to intercept them, you’ll have thousands of people injured or killed," he added.
Related video: Downriver couple stranded in Maldives as conflict in the Middle East continues
Despite ongoing wars, he and his wife are staying put in Israel, but they do return to Michigan during the summer months.
"Whatever we have to do to survive to eliminate the threat, we'll do. So, we're willing to endure this week or two of conflict," Lis said.
It's anyone's guess how long this conflict could last. Last June, Iran and Israel fought during what's known as the 12-Day War.
