Yoga, surfing and fishing: Signs of normalcy on Tel Aviv beaches amid war with Hamas
Just 70 kilometers north of Gaza, some residents are cautiously returning to their hobbies in search of respite from the relentless tension and stream of heartbreaking news
On the beaches of Tel Aviv, some elements of normalcy are returning, more than two months after the devastating Hamas massacres of October 7 that triggered the brutal war in Gaza.
The seaside city is known as the fun, progressive counterpart to the religious hub of Jerusalem.
But there are visible changes now.
Some joggers combine sports bras with a rifle slung over the shoulder — evidence of a government push to arm the populace after the October 7 attacks, when some 3,000 Palestinian terrorists burst across the border from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 hostages of all ages, mostly civilians.
Cyclists have portraits on their baskets of some of the hostages abducted by Hamas that day, and road signs bear graffiti reading “Bring them home now.”
Before the war, Tel Aviv saw months of pro-democracy rallies against the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Now, many who march are demanding a deal from the authorities to bring home the remaining hostages. Families of many captives meet almost daily to demand their return.
‘A medicine to forget Hamas’
Just 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) south, Gaza is witnessing unprecedented death and devastation from Israel’s air and ground offensive that has claimed at least 18,800 lives according to the Hamas-run health ministry. These figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and thousands of Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.
Israel is similarly in a state of constant grief, with near-daily announcements of IDF soldiers’ deaths and confirmations of hostages killed in Gaza; harrowing stories still being aired by survivors of the Hamas onslaught, including freed abductees; and frequent rocket barrages from Gaza and Lebanon sending millions to bomb shelters and feeding anxiety in many residents.
But in Tel Aviv, some people are turning back to their hobbies in search of respite from the relentless tension.
For Miki Levi, it’s surfing.
“I connect with nature, with myself, I meditate. And when you’re going through difficult times, it’s even more vital,” he says.
For Ohel Haim, 47, it’s fishing — “a medicine to forget Hamas.” He comes once or twice a week from Jerusalem with friends.
Sara Nazar, a 21-year-old student, took up yoga after October 7 — first at home and tentatively, out on the beach.
“My body needed it, my muscles needed it,” she says.
The threat from above is ever-present, as rockets fly in from Gaza and occasionally from terrorists in southern Lebanon — even if Israel’s powerful missile defense system, Iron Dome, usually keeps residents safe.
Friends since kindergarten, Oshra and Dora, who did not give their surnames, never allow the rocket warnings to distract from their daily walk along the beach.
“It’s a breather from what we see on television — it’s too heavy. We like to open the day with this walk,” said Dora.
They rely on their faith to ease their minds: “If anything happens to us, God will decide.”
