https://archive.ph/4XLnC
Air and sea operation to bring home Israelis stranded abroad
Thousands of Israelis stran#ded abroad have started making their way back home in an exercise dubbed “Operation Safe Return” as flights #remain #cancelled and Israel’s airspace shut down amid conflict with Iran.
Six days into the military escalation that has led to regular air raid alerts in Israel due to Iranian missile and drone attacks, the country’s airport authority had begun to organise repatriation flights home, with the first planeload landing from Larnaca, Cyprus, on Wednesday morning.
Estimates say some 150,000 Israelis are abroad but wishing to return. Israel has created a committee to determine who will receive priority to do so, such as those with medical needs.
Sharon Kedmi, chief executive of the Israel Airports Authority, said: “Our aim is to bring back as many people as possible, but it is more important that they are safe. We are carrying out #assessments on an hourly basis.”
Up to 2,800 Israelis were #expected to fly back on Wednesday. “It’s a pleasure to be back in Israel,” Dror, one of the first passengers to return, told Israel’s Channel 12 after landing. “It’s better to be here,” he added. He was meant to return last #Friday, only for his flight to perform a U-turn 15 minutes before landing in Israel due to the start of the war……
Israel’s national security bureau# has advised citizens not to cross through the land borders, assessing the threat to Israelis at level four, the second-highest level. Passengers have also travelled to and from Israel by sea, including on ferries to Cyprus, a crossing that can take up to 20 hours.
The US embassy is organising #evacuation flights and cruise ship #departures for its citizens, said Mike Huckabee, the American ambassador to Israel, on Wednesday.
However, the UK has come under criticism from #stranded Britons in Israel. Although the Foreign Office now advises against all travel to the country, British citizens have been advised so far to notify the government in order to receive instructions on how best to leave…..