TAMPA, Fla. — A Lakeland man is one of many who fought to find a way out of Israel after the attacks started over the weekend.
"We had some rockets coming in that morning. I just knew and I said, 'This isn't going to be safe any longer,'" Chris Granzow said.
As he watched flares in the sky and heard the sounds of war, Granzow knew he needed to move fast.
"It was absolutely wild journey trying to get out," he said.
The American with Israeli roots was in the country working when surprise attacks from Hamas started over the weekend.
"I was over there, producing and hosting a tour with one of our ministry partners, Eagle's Wings and Bishop Robert Stearns, with over 300 tourists from around the world. We were just wrapping up that tour," Granzow explained.
That's when he got word the attacks had started in Jerusalem. Their main concern at that time was safety.
"Thank God many of the groups that were with us were flying out that very morning that the attack happened," Granzow said.
Granzow was about an hour and a half from the airport in the north away from danger, but he knew things would change. He checked online and found just one flight that would take him to London and he booked it. Turns out it would be one of the last flights out of the airport before it got shut down, and he got the last seat.
"Along the way, we're passing tanks that have been stationed. We probably counted about 40 tanks that were on flatbed heading south to the frontlines," Granzow said.
A brief sigh of relief came when he could see his family back in Florida again.
"It was by the grace of God that really that I was even able to get out, but my heart is breaking because I wish I could be there and stay in help and in fight if they would allow me," Granzow said.
His friends are now a part of the Israeli Defense Forces fighting to protect those threatened by Hamas. From his home in Lakeland, Granzow is now coordinating humanitarian efforts through his organization the Christian Agency for Israel which he created after visiting the country nearly eight years ago.
"What we're encouraging everyone to do is come together and declare that we want peace back in the land of Israel, and then the whole Middle East," Granzow said.
The organization "Raise Up Peace" was created to get direct funds for medical aid and resources, but the work doesn't stop there.
"The second that it's safe to go back, I'm going to be going back, because we have a lot of work to do over there," Granzow said.
For now, he's encouraging everyone to send messages of solidarity and prayer through pictures and videos with the hashtag #RaiseUpPeace. If you'd like to donate to their humanitarian efforts, you can here.