[News UP] Gunfire from all over the Middle East 'roaring'...What's the situation in Israel?

■ Host: Anchor Yoon Jae-hee
■ Video call: Chae Wan-byeong, Chairman of the Korean Association in Israel

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News UP] when quoting.

[Anchor]
As such, tensions between Iran and Israel continue to rise. Israel declared retaliation after Iran's direct strike. Fighting with Iranian proxy forces continues everywhere. We will listen to the local atmosphere to see if our Korean residents in Israel are safe. It is connected by video of the Korean-American president of Israel Chae Wan-byung. You're out, right?

[Chae Wan Byung]
Hello,

[Anchor]
Mr. Chairman, where in Israel are you now?

[Chae Wan Byung]
Now I live in Jerusalem.

[Anchor]
On the 1st, Iran carried out large-scale missile strikes on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and after that, was there any additional airstrikes in Jerusalem?

[Chae Wan Byung]
On Tuesday, October 2nd, local time, there was a missile attack from Iran. So far, there are no additional airstrikes, and we are staying at home safely.

[Anchor]
I'm also curious about the situation at the time of the large-scale bombing, was the air raid warning issued first at that time? What was the situation?

[Chae Wan Byung]
At around 7:30 p.m. local time on October 2nd, I first received an evacuation text by text message. After the evacuation text, we went into the air raid shelter and stayed safe, and after 10 minutes, sirens began to ring and sirens continued for about 40 to 50 minutes, and vehicles stopped nearby to evacuate under a safe tree or into the building. During the process of avoiding, I could hear the sound of the rocket falling or the rocket exploding.

[Anchor]
How many people are in the bomb shelter? How many hours do you have?

[Chae Wan Byung]
I heard you wrong.

[Anchor]
You said you were in the air raid shelter at the time, how long did you stay?

[Chae Wan Byung]
The siren continued for about 40 to 50 minutes. We stayed for about an hour. And I got an evacuation text message, and we came out after that.

[Anchor]
The Israeli military said it had prevented most of the attacks. However, videos of missiles falling appeared on social media. What was it like in real life?

[Chae Wan Byung]
In fact, because it was evening in the night sky, you could see the Iron Dome intercepting, and you could see the fireworks as they were shot down, and you could see the various rocket images that were actually visible with the naked eye.

[Anchor]
I think it was a very nervous situation, but I heard that it's a holiday in Israel right now.

[Chae Wan-Byeong] It's
right. The new year began on October 2nd as a Jewish calendar. On the 4th, I have been spending holidays as a holiday until today.

[Anchor]
As far as I know, this was not the only time that attacks took place on holidays in the Middle East, what is the reason?

[Chae Wan Byung]
Since Israel attacked Iran last July, Iran has hinted at an attack, and the closest Jewish holiday was August 12, the day of the destruction of the temple called Tishabeab. So a lot of people said they were probably going to attack then, but the attack didn't actually happen. When Iran attacks Israel again, the closest Jewish holiday was this New Year, so it is said that it attacked this time. However, I think Jews probably aimed for the holiday to hurt the holiday even more because it is a holiday where many people get together and many people get together.

[Anchor]
Israel is now vowing strong retaliation. Some say that it will hit Iran's nuclear facilities or oil facilities, but how is the local government's announcement and media reports coming out?

[Chae Wan Byung]
Netanyahu, now the prime minister of Israel, has hinted at retaliation. We also told the media that it was the biggest mistake to attack us. But it probably doesn't seem easy to escalate the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, Iran, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, but what Israel wants in the end is to get a justification to attack nuclear and oil facilities. It goes further and says that it was an action to take the initiative in negotiations to bring in more than 100 hostages held in Gaza.

[Anchor]
Looking at it now, each other is signaling retaliation and retaliation. Are you preparing for evacuation in your daily life?

[Chae Wan Byung]
In Israel, there is a place where each building has a room in the house as a bomb shelter. Air raid shelters are also prepared in the basement of the building. So, we are currently receiving text messages inside the air raid shelter telling us to place emergency food or water and to stay around the air raid shelter whenever possible. That's why we're preparing for such an emergency.

[Anchor]
Then, should I say that school, company, and daily life are not unreasonable now?

[Chae Wan Byung]
Jews are a people who have already experienced a lot of war, so they seem to be preparing very well when it comes to maintaining their daily lives. Also, the holiday has just begun, so Israel is taking a break from school or work, so fortunately, there is no big problem.

[Anchor]
Now, President Yoon Suk Yeol recently ordered the use of military transport planes to withdraw our people in the Middle East. Is there any official contact with the Korean Association of Israel?

[Chae Wan Byung]
I also heard this news through Korean news. However, we have not yet received the information accurately through the local embassy.

[Anchor]
Currently, if so, is the flight back to Korea operating normally?

[Chae Wan Byung]
Since October 7th of last year, Korean national planes have been suspended. Instead, the Israeli airport is still open, so there are not many people who go through Korea, but it is still open so far.

[Anchor]
As tensions have risen a lot recently, I think there are many Koreans who are moving to other regions or thinking about going to Korea. How's the atmosphere?

[Chae Wan Byung]
First of all, there are more than 400 Koreans left. Many people have withdrawn through the first military transport plane in November last year. Currently, there are many people and international students who are mainly living here. So, because safety is the first thing, we are always in close contact with the embassy and preparing in the safest way.

[Anchor]
I think you'll have a lot of worries because it's an area where there's always danger, but if the attack continues a little more, is there any plan for the chairman to leave Israel if it spreads?

[Chae Wan Byung]
We have luggage ready to leave at any time. And we've always been in contact with the embassy recently. If there's a problem with aviation, or if it's worst, we're thinking about moving quickly by land to the surrounding Jordan or to the safest areas.

[Anchor]
He said that you are always preparing to leave. Israel is now moving to expand the ground war in Lebanon. What is the public opinion in Israel about this as they are also pouring airstrikes on Beirut?

[Chae Wan Byung]
In fact, the current prime minister, Netanyahu, did not have a high approval rating. However, it is true that the approval rating has risen slightly since then due to the recent explosion of radios and beeps in Lebanon. However, more than half still have many negative positions on Netanyahu. Because Israel continues to take its toll on it because it's not negotiating and it's so powerful that most Jews seem to have more of that expectation that this war will be resolved quickly through negotiations.

[Anchor]
There are also growing concerns about an all-out war in the Middle East. Media reports are going out like this, but do you think that's likely there?

[Chae Wan Byung]
When the war broke out on October 7 last year, the confidence in Mossad, Israel's top intelligence agency, fell a lot. But the recent series of events is what Damosad planned. But it's not just a few months ago, it's been planned for a few years, so the Jewish people have a positive stance on it, but it seems that public opinion is happening because the damage to civilians is so great that Jews are going to have to negotiate with anti-government demonstrations and hostage families over and over again.

[Anchor]
I see. The situation where Korean residents are anxious continues for too long. I hope you stay safe. I connected Chae Wan-byeong, the Korean-American president of Israel, and listened to the atmosphere of the site in detail. Thank you for talking with me today.