Israel war: Australian-Israeli Paul Hakim describes Iran attack during friend’s birthday party

An Australian-Israeli has described the moment he “kissed his friends goodbye” as 300 Iranian drones rained down on Israel.

Israeli-Australian Paul Hakim told of the moment Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Israel as he was partying with friends, saying “it was like New Year’s Eve, the skies lit up, we kissed each other goodbye, not knowing if we would survive.”

Tour operator Hakim, 60, who has been living in Tel Aviv’s affluent Ra’anana, in Central Israel, since he left Sydney 30 years ago, said: “Saturday night was like doomsday.”

“I was holding a karaoke party for a friend’s birthday at my house in the backyard, we knew the attack was coming because Iran announced it on the news, but when it came it was so intense; the missiles kept coming and coming, one minute from Iran, then from Lebanon, they were coming at us from all directions,” he said.

Iran’s attack was a success

Their missiles had to bypass Israel, US, UK and Jordan’s air defenses to be able to hit sensitive military bases deep in Israel. The “99%” intercepted drones and missiles were not meant to hit. They were the distraction that still cost Israel billions pic.twitter.com/6LcbjQ6fVl

— Hadi Nasrallah (@HadiNasrallah) April 14, 2024

The tour operator said since the October 7 attacks when Palestinian militants attacked Israel, killing 1200 people, “we thought it couldn’t get worse but now the landscape has taken a serious turn for the worse. It’s changed, and we’re waiting to see what happens next,” he said.

“How can Israel not do anything? The government has to act.

“We were singing karaoke in the back yard when the sirens went off as the attack was launched.

“I was singing Joy to the World when boom, the sky exploded.

“We saw the missiles fly over Iraq coming towards us.

Australian in Israel Paul Hakim (left) said he thought it was “doomsday” when 300 Iranian drones attacked Israel. Picture: Supplied

“It was like doomsday, we stopped singing and ran for cover. We all hugged inside the house and said this was probably the last time we would see each other.

“It was surreal, at 2am it became intense, missile after missile, boom, boom, boom. [Israel] managed to intercept most of them,” he said.

“When everyone left the house, we said ‘See you later,’ like you do every time you say goodbye to someone, but this time we knew we couldn’t mean it.

“We didn’t know whether we were going to see each other later. This was the most intense and most frightening it has been.”

The debris of a missile that Jordanian forces intercepted over Amman amid an unprecedented Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel. Picture: AFP

Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday and during the early hours of Sunday, targeting Israel in retaliation for last week’s suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus kill 13 people.

The aerial attack on Israel marks the first-ever direct attack by Iran on Israeli territory from Iranian soil. Iran called the attack Operation True Promise.

Israel’s chief military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said Iran’s attack involved more than 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones, and more than 30 cruise missiles.

Empty beaches in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, after Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory. Picture: AFP

It comes as New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan described how he was forced to take shelter in Bethlehem during Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

“This Sunday in Bethlehem all does seem calm and bright. And it is for us. We feel safe and secure. That wasn’t true in the middle of last night when the air raid sirens went off, and we had to go down and seek security at Notre Dame Center” the cardinal said in a video shared on X, referencing the Christmas song “Silent Night.”

“But right now things look good, and we’re grateful for that,” he added.

Jerusalem's Old City at dawn, after Iran launched more than 200 drones and missiles on Israel in an unprecedented attack. Picture: AFP

Dolan is meeting with local Christian, Jewish and Islamic religious leaders, spending time with the families of hostages, and a visit with Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups.”

Iran’s slew of deadly drones killed a seven-year-old Bedouin girl in the Israeli territory of the southern Negev desert.

A relative points to a hole in the floor of a building caused by a projectile that struck a seven-year-old Bedouin girl in the southern Negev desert. Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel. Picture: AFP

In Sunday’s video, Dolan notes before the attack late Saturday night that he visited the Creche, a centre in Bethlehem run by nuns who take in abandoned babies.

“Those are messages of inspiration that you get here in the Holy Land that I think have given the people the resilience and hope for which they are famous,” Dolan said.

Originally published as Israel war: Australian-Israeli Paul Hakim describes Iran attack during friend’s birthday party