site.btaUPDATED 13 Bulgarian Аrtists Visiting Tel Aviv for Festival Are Well

The group of 13 Bulgarian artists and writers who are in Tel Aviv for the tenth edition of the Bulgarian Soul of the Holy Land International Festival told the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) that they are well after Iran's missile strikes against Israel that night.

The Bulgarian delegation includes Bulgarian Writers' Union Chair Boyan Angelov, the Confederation of Bulgarian Cultural Organizations and Activists Abroad President Snezhana Galcheva, as well as part of the team of the Bulgarian feature film Don’t Close Your Eyes, including screenwriter Martin Ralchevski and director and producer Nikolay Egermann, and Raina Mandzhukova, Executive Director of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, who is participating in the annual meeting of the Confederation of Bulgarian Cultural Organizations and Activists Abroad in Tel Aviv.

"The night passed under several shellings, which caused us to go down to the basement of our hotel. From the start of the sirens to the first strikes, there was about a minute and a half to react. Our entire group is fine, we are tired, but there is no panic. We are also in constant contact with Ambassador Slavena Gergova, an exceptional and courageous diplomat and person. We expect her to visit us again at the hotel today. At this point, our evacuation from Israel remains impossible, the airports are closed, so we are patient and we are not losing faith," radio host Dimitrina Kyurkchieva commented to BTA.

Speaking to BTA later in the day, Mandzhukova said that the Bulgarian Ambassador to Israel, Gergova, had held another meeting with the group of Bulgarian writers and artists on Saturday. The ambassador assured them she is actively working to arrange their safe evacuation as soon as possible.

“Ambassador Gergova told us that the situation is being reviewed literally every half hour and the Bulgarian Embassy is coordinating with other countries that also have temporary residents here in Israel. All evacuation options are being considered -by land, sea, and air - but none are feasible at the moment,” Mandzhukova added. She noted that evacuation was impossible during the day due to Shabbat in Israel and the fact that state institutions and services are not operational. “At the hotel, everything is calm. We are allowed to go out within a close perimeter so we can return to the hotel or shelter in case of danger or an air raid,” Mandzhukova said.

After Israel launched its biggest offensive against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, the two countries exchanged a series of air strikes last night.

In Iran, two shells hit Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, and fires were also reported to have broken out in the area of ​​the airport.

A high-rise building in a densely populated area of ​​the Israeli capital Tel Aviv was hit in a wave of rocket attacks. An apartment building in the neighboring city of Ramat Gan was also destroyed.