Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv tonight as a missile was fired from Gaza toward the city. The Israeli Defense Forces said Tel Aviv wasn’t hit, but the conflict appears to be escalating toward war.
Much has been made of the social media strategies employed by Israel and Hamas, which have exchanged fire on Twitter as well as real life. Less attention has been paid to the experience of normal citizens on social media amid the crisis. This Is Tel Aviv offers a real-time view of Instagram photos posted in the city, mixing the mundane and terrifying, from “selfies” to bomb shelters. Here’s a selection of images posted in Tel Aviv after the air-raid sirens went off.
This screenshot, by asaf_lees and since deleted, shows push notifications from an iPhone app that alerts residents in the south of Israel to rocket strikes.
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“State of alarm,” posted dannyspektor in this photo of people huddling in what appears to be a bunker.
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This photo was posted by annbelieveable with a caption in Russian that reads, “I and my German neighbor Toni are smoking nervously. In Israel, a war has begun. There are bunkers here. We’re already here, in the middle of the war. Aaaah!”
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This collage of photos from ran1904 includes students at Tel Aviv University.
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There was no caption on this image by ofirmoor.
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“What will happen?!?!?” wrote nitzantabib in posting this photo of TV news.
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“Somewhere near a bomb, and I walk the dog,” anastacia_kimotto wrote in Russian.
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Lots of people posted screenshots of the Notes application on their iPhones, including user liormagen. See similar photos, with Hebrew text, here and here.
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Meanwhile, an antiwar demonstration continued. “We must have a peaceful solution,” reads the sign in Hebrew script.
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Others expressed different sentiments, like michallpo, who posted this photo with the Hebrew expression, “Through thick and thin.”
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Life continued, though. Lots of people, including shirflaish, continued using Instagram for its typical purpose: to photograph pets and food.
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This food shot by adi_bc took note of the news: “Food during the alarm,” reads the caption.
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And some people hit the stores to stock up on supplies “for nuclear war,” as atgardner put it in this photo.
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See also: Buzzfeed’s “Surreal Instgrams From Israel Defense Force Soliders“