Bay Area residents are reacting after Iran launched an attack against Israel on Saturday.
Tensions were already on the rise in the Middle East after six months of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the incident has raised concerns of a global conflict as Israel closes its airspace and defends itself against an Iranian drone attack.
There were no direct flights to Tel Aviv from SJC or from SFO Saturday night. But the closure of airspace across Israel was affecting international travelers in the U.S. and some in the Bay Area.
United Airlines canceled flights from the East Coast to Tel Aviv and Aman, Jordan following the airspace closure in Israel.
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Minutes before air raid sirens started going off in Tel Aviv, several international carriers canceled upcoming flights and even called back one flight already in the air headed to neighboring Jordan.
Meanwhile in the Bay Area, those with family and other loved ones in Iran and in Israel worry about what comes next.
“This is absolutely devastating. I think the people who are really going to see the most harm from this are the civilians,” said political content creator Ariana Jasmine Afshar.
Afshar is outspoken to her over 350,000 social media followers about her dislike of the current Iranian regime. But she said they had a right to retaliate for the bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Now, Afshar worries for the civilians in Iran and in neighboring nations who will be impacted if things continue to escalate.
“This is going to be catastrophic for the Middle East. It’s going to be catastrophic for the people and I can’t help but be so worried for my family members that live in Iran as well. It’s just very, very bad news,” she said.
Tyler Gregory, the head of the Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council, said he worries about the civilian casualties and for Jewish people globally and in the Bay Area, who may be targeted because of what’s happening overseas.
“We saw after Oct. 7, there was a wave of antisemitism that hit the Bay Area, Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley and so we’re also bracing for what that wave might look like now,” he said. “But we also need to remember that things can also easily spiral out of control. It’s not just about this limited attack or so we hope. It’s what could go wrong?”
Many hoping for cooler heads in the days ahead as the situation overseas evolves by the hour.
