Iran war with Israel and Trump: Northern Ireland man in Tel Aviv relaxed despite rockets 'because Israelis are cool as cucumbers'
A Portadown man stranded in Tel Aviv says he remains relaxed despite rockets constantly exploding near him - because Israelis remain "as cool as cucumbers" during the ongoing war.
Mark Jameson was in the city to run a charity marathon on Friday and then take in several days of sightseeing, when Israel and the US and Israel launched their war on Iran.
"Then on Saturday the rocket alerts starting coming in on our mobile phones,” he said.
The 50-year-old runs his own colourful coffee truck in Portadown, called Morning Buzz.
He had almost arrived in Nazareth on a bus tour on Saturday – which he was really looking forward to due to his faith – when the rocket alerts began. As a result the driver turned around and headed back to shelter.
They were warned that rockets would take two hours to arrive from Iran after the initial attack by Israel and the US - which he said was totally accurate.
"Then the alerts kept coming in all day long on Saturday."
Every building in Tel Aviv has bomb bunkers, he said. For him, theirs was an underground car park.
On another occasion he ended up in the bunker of a infants’ school, sitting on tiny chairs.
Eventually he began to get a bit "desensitized" and started to venture out during the alerts.
During the day it is hard to see missiles being interceptted by the Israeli defence missiles.
"But at night time you see the whole thing".
He witnessed the remains of an Iranian rocket fall onto a nearby building.
"We later found out it killed a Filipino woman and injured 21 other people."
He was due to arrive in London on Tuesday morning (3 March) but there is "no word" from his airline when he might get a flight.
On Monday night an alert came with very little notice and he was not able to get to a bunker.
"All the doors and windows rattled."
He has got one text so far from the UK Foreign Office - advising him to "sit tight and wait".
"But the Israelis are all as cool as cucumbers - which relaxes me a lot.
"They have total faith in the Iron Dome missile defence system. If it wasn't for it the whole country would be rubble.
"They are such a resilient people."
Mark is aiming to run a marathon a month this year - with a 52 mile run in two weeks time, if he can get home.
The aim is to raise funds for girls who suffer with Retts Syndrome.
He was inspired after finding the daughter of two running colleagues, five-year-old Mollie Walls, is battling the condition.
A neurological condition, it most often strikes previously healthy little girls between their first and second birthday, leaving them with multiple disabilities and medical complexities for life.
After many years of hiking Mark only took up running aged 47.
He joined Portadown Running club, which taught him good technique.
And because he never played football, he had "fresh knees" and is now well able to run marathons – interspersed with the occasional ultramarathon – on a monthly basis.
He previously ran a marathon every month for 12 months in 2024/25.
• To donate see ‘Mollie's Miles for Reverse Rett’ on www.Justgiving.com