Former Reserve Bank governor and National leader Don Brash and partner Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Margaret Murray-Benge in Jerusalem.
Former Reserve Bank governor and National leader Don Brash and partner Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Margaret Murray-Benge in Jerusalem.
A well-known Kiwi political couple have described their “frightening” escape from Israel the day after a war broke out, killing hundreds.
Former National Party leader and Reserve Bank governor Don Brash and partner Margaret Murray-Benge, a long-serving district councillor, were driven in the middle of the night past military trucksto a “chaotic” Tel Aviv airport, fearing it could be bombed.
Fighting erupted between Israel and Hamas on Saturday. AP reported the war began after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack in Israel, which declared war and began its retaliation. More than 1800 lives have already been claimed on both sides.
Murray-Benge, a Western Bay of Plenty District Council representative, said she and Brash were on the last leg of their 28-day tour through Egypt, Jordan and Israel.
She described the trip as a “lifetime experience”.
The Tauranga couple arrived in Israel on October 2 and stayed at a hotel in Haifa with their tour group. The hotel had signs pointing to a “safe room”, which she believed was a permanent fixture.
When the conflict broke out, the tour guide reassured them it would likely just last for 24 hours, but two young women in their group panicked and one left the country immediately.
“After 24 hours, it was quite clear that it was a whole lot bigger … There was a real fear,” Murray-Benge said.
She said they did not see any of the violence but saw it on TV and said it was “frightening”.
“You didn’t know how bad it would be, or how long the war would go on for.”
Murray-Benge said they were warned the airport may close and flights may be cancelled so they took the advice to leave the country earlier.
They got a flight home - only nine seats were available when they booked - via Dubai on Sunday, a day earlier than planned.
They left their hotel in Haifa at 2am and were driven to the airport in Tel Aviv about 120km away, with an “eerie feeling that trouble was near”.
Former Reserve Bank governor and National leader Don Brash (left) and partner Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Margaret Murray-Benge in Jerusalem.
They passed “truckload after truckload” transporting combat tanks and military personnel.
The airport was “chaos” with “huge” queues as fights were delayed and cancelled.
She said there were “so many people trying to get out” who, like them, were worried about being trapped in the country.
They feared the airport would be targeted.
“You just don’t know when [missiles] are going to come.”
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