By Valentina Voikova and Ioannis Karagiorgas
Published on •Updated
Israel has started flying home citizens stranded overseas during the conflict with Iran, with two flights from Cyprus landing in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.
Israel’s airspace has been closed since the country launched a surprise airstrike campaign against Iran on Friday. Iran has retaliated with hundreds of drones and missiles.
A total of 13 repatriation flights were scheduled on Wednesday from Larnaca to Israel, with nine to Haifa and four to Tel Aviv, according to an airport operator in Cyprus.
Israel’s transport ministry says that up to 150,000 Israelis are currently outside the country, about a third of whom are trying to return home.
Many Israelis stranded abroad have ended up in Cyprus, which is the closest EU country to Israel. The jets of Israel’s three airlines have been moved to Larnaca since the conflict with Iran began last week.
The conflict has forced most countries in the Middle East to close their airspace. Dozens of airports have halted all flights or significantly reduced operations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and others unable to flee the conflict or return home.
Stuck in Bulgaria
At least 400 Israeli citizens are reported to be stranded along Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.
One of those tourists, Galid, told Euronews that she did not know when she and her family would be able to return home to Israel.
“We can’t go back now. We can’t. We’ll have to stay here with the children and wait. Nothing can be done right now. That’s it. It’s war,” Galid said.
Two other tourists, Eden and Itai, stated that they had ruled out the possibility of flying to Jordan or Egypt and then entering Israel through the land border because they had a young child.
The hotels where the stranded Israelis are staying in Bulgaria have been placed under increased police presence and security measures in recent days.
Israel’s national carrier El Al has said it intends to operate dozens of flights to repatriate Israelis from various European capitals such as Athens, Rome and Paris. Smaller carrier Arkia will fly back Israeli citizens from Greece, Cyprus and Montenegro, while Israir is operating flights for the country’s stranded tourists from Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria.
However, passenger flights are still not departing from Israel, which means that tens of thousands of tourists are currently stranded in the country.
Israeli airstrikes hit Iran’s capital Tehran overnight and into Wednesday morning, as Iran launched a small barrage of missiles at Israel with no reports of casualties.
The attacks between the bitter rivals have opened a new chapter in their turbulent recent history. Many in the region fear a wider conflict as they watch waves of missiles fly across their skies every night.
A Washington-based Iranian human rights group, Human Rights Activists, says at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded by Israel’s strikes on Iran.
Since Friday, Iran has fired about 400 missiles and hundreds of drones in retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 24 people in Israel, all civilians, and wounded hundreds, according to Israeli authorities.
Additional sources • AP
