A Las Vegas resident who has been in Israel during recent attacks has made his way back home after experiencing nightly rocket fire and seeking shelter in bomb shelters.
Alex Woogmaster, who has lived in Las Vegas for more than 12 years, spoke with me about his experience just before boarding his flight back from Jordan, where he had traveled to exit the strike zone.
WATCH: Las Vegas local describes his experience leaving Israel during missile attacks
"Every night is pretty rough. Rocket fire starts either at 9 o'clock or 7 p.m. or midnight, or 3 in the morning," Woogmaster said.
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Las Vegas locals describe firsthand experience of missile attacks in Israel
"You wake up and you have a minute and a half to run down to a bomb shelter or to a safe room if you have it in your apartment," he said.
Despite the nighttime dangers, Woogmaster described how daily life attempted to maintain some normalcy in Tel Aviv.
"Usually during the day things are kind of back to normal. Restaurants and cafes are opened up again and people are spending time with each other in the street because they need to," Woogmaster said.
The Las Vegas resident expressed mixed emotions about leaving Israel after his 11-day stay during this tense period.
"I really didn't want to leave. My time in Israel the last 11 days has been so much more affirming than I would have possibly expected. I feel much more part of the people, much more part of the existence of the country, and it's with a very heavy heart that I left," he said.
When asked about a hospital that was targeted with more than 200 people injured, Woogmaster described the attacks as "utterly inferior."
"The kind of firepower that is being used against the country right now, ballistic missiles now, are made to cause the most pain possible and the most horrific impact," Woogmaster said.
He noted that emergency evacuation options were becoming available for Americans and other foreign nationals.
"There are cruise ships, there's at least one that I know of, that is going from Cyprus to one of the ports in Israel, and they are going to begin resuming and begin offering flights, they're considering them emergency flights out of the country for Americans and for other nationals," he said.
Woogmaster emphasized that he sees the conflict as being "not Israel's war against the people of Iran" but rather "Israel's war against a regime that has taken over and sworn for the destruction of Israel."
While now back in Las Vegas, Woogmaster plans to continue supporting the Israeli community from home.
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