Local parents concerned about daughter stuck in Israel during airstrikes
As airstrikes play out between Israel and Iran, there are many Americans who are concerned about loved ones caught in the war zone.
That includes a local family whose daughter is in Tel Aviv right now.
"Your child is over there, so close to all this unfortunate activity. It's upsetting, to say the least," said Ed, whose last name we're not using out of safety concerns.
Ed and his wife have a 20-year-old daughter who is currently in the danger zone of airstrikes in Israel.
Their daughter is one of thousands of young people who recently traveled to Israel with help from a non-profit program. Ed and Elisa's daughter signed up for an eight-week internship, but only one week in, the airstrikes began.
"The first night of rockets hitting us, I physically felt everything. I saw missiles in the sky. It was a lot to process," said Ed and Elisa's daughter, who asked that her first name not be used out of safety concerns.
RELATED: Netanyahu tells ABC he's not ruling out taking out Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei
She's kept her parents informed through text messages and photos. One of them showed young people in a stairwell using it as a shelter.
"They give us sometimes a 10-minute warning when an alert is about to go off," said the 20-year-old. "But once it goes off, they give you one minute and 30 seconds to get to shelter."
Her parents have been frustrated by the lack of information coming out of the area.
"It bothered me so much that nobody in the U.S. is focused on all the Americans over there. How are we going to get them home?" said Elisa.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory on Monday, declaring Israel and the West Bank as Level Four: Do Not Travel.
Safety is a concern not only in Israel but also back at home in the U.S.
"On my college campus it's been a lot of not only anti-Israel, but anti-Semitic attacks," said Ed and Elisa's daughter. "I'm very proud to have a connection to Israel but when I go back home, part of me is I can't tell anybody about it."
Still, her parents are looking forward to getting her out of Israel and back home safely.
"I just want to wrap my arms around her and get her home," said Elisa.
There is now a plan in place to get some of the young people in the group home. Ed and Elisa's daughter, though, doesn't have an anticipated return date.
