Former Blackpool, Portsmouth and Aberdeen defender ‘safe’ after fleeing Israel following Hamas attacks

Former Blalckpool defender Clark Robertson has confirmed his safety after managing to escape Israel.

The ex-Seasiders, Portsmouth, Aberdeen and Rotherham player updated his followers on X, formerly Twitter, of his return to the UK on Monday afternoon. That’s after an Instagram post from the FC Ashdod player showed him boarding a flight to Budapest following the shock attacks by Hamas militants over the weekend.

Robertson’s X post was accompanied by a video showing the immediate aftermath of a rocket strike on a residential neighbourhood in the City of Ashdod.

The 30-year-old wrote: ‘Madness seeing this. Thankfully back in the UK now safe and well.’

Robertson signed for Israeli top-flight side Ashdod in the summer following his release by Blackpool’s League One rivals Pompey. The centre-back spent three seasons at Bloomfield Road, making 143 appearances and helping the Seasiders win promotion via the League Two play-offs in 2016-17.

He has since featured four times for his new club, scoring once, with his last appearance coming in a 1-0 defeat to Hapoel Hadera on Saturday, September 30.

His new home city, which he has since fled, is 38km from Gaza and sits between the Palestinian exclave and Tel Aviv.

More than 700 people have been killed in Israel since Saturday, including 260 people massacred by Hamas gunmen at a music festival. More than 10 British citizens are feared dead or missing.