George and Martha Mack weren't sure if they would make it home alive.
They faced the agonising decision to return to their Wantirna home in Melbourne, Victoria, while leaving behind relatives they hadn't seen in 42 years.
"We have found a family but we had to leave them," Martha told 9News.
The 64-year-old grandparents touched down in Melbourne after their trip to Israel turned to the chaotic scenes that have filled our screens these past two weeks.
"We got up and we were just resting when suddenly the sirens went off," George recalls.
"We were like 'What's going on?' My cousin ran in and said 'Quick, quick we've got to go out and down into the stairwell'."
"There was this God Almightly boom directly above us."
Martha says: "There were hundreds and thousands of missiles being sent and we just kept going in and out, in and out of the hallway."
It's the second time they've found themselves in the middle of war.
In 1981, the then-newlyweds became trapped in Lithuania while meeting the same relatives.
"Martial Law had been declared [there, so] they moved to Israel and we lost contact with them," George said.
Four decades later, they re-connected on Facebook.
"When we had arrived a few days earlier the family had taken us to the bunkers and George and I were sort of saying 'my god, we don't know what this is all about'," Martha said.
After their flight to Melbourne was cancelled, they finally found a ticket days later.
But first, the terrifying journey to Tel Aviv airport.
"This bolt of lightning hit literally a few hundred metres from the car and the God Almightly crash of thunder which we thought was a rocket attack.
"I held onto the seat as we taxied out to the runway and held my breath there was no incoming rockets at that moment."
Martha says they are still trying to process what they've been through.
"Trying to make sense of what actually took place but how can you make sense of war? You can't make sense of war."
The Melbourne grandparents aren't the only ones to make it home to safety.
On Saturday almost another 100 Australians arrived into Perth from Israel on the last planned repatriation flight from Tel Aviv.
Passengers shared a mixture of emotions as they touched down, with some leaving behind loved ones.
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"The fear of it getting worse was kind of what pushed us over the edge and my wife's about to give birth so we had to make a move quickly," one returning passenger said.
So far more than 1500 Australians have returned home from the war-stricken region.
The Australian Government says at this stage there are no plans for further flights out of Israel.
