Flights to bring Aussies home from strife-torn Israel
Efforts to repatriate Australian citizens from strife-torn Israel are set to begin with two flights from Tel Aviv to London on Friday and one more the following week.
The federal government has begun mobilising its plans to repatriate Australian citizens from Israel, which has declared war on the designated terrorist organisation Hamas.
More than 1200 Israelis have been killed and more than 2700 wounded after an hours-long rampage by militants who breached the fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday. Scores of citizens were taken hostage.
More than 1000 Palestinians are believed to have died and more than 5000 were wounded in retaliatory air strikes on Gaza.
Major airlines have since suspended or cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv.
Registrations have opened for Australians wishing to leave Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Register here.
With roughly 10,000 Australian residents and even more tourists stranded in Israel, Australian authorities are still trying to ascertain their status and bring home those who want to leave.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said it was possible there would be a large demand for the flights.
“We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in the coming weeks and months and it’s possible there will be an initial rush of people out of Israel but then later others will want to leave,” she told ABC TV on Thursday.
Asked if defence force planes were a better option than commercial aircraft, after British Airways stopped flights to Tel Aviv as rockets flew over the city, O’Neil said the foreign minister was working through the details.
“It’s going to be something that needs to shift and change a little bit as the security situation changes,” she said.
“At this stage, those Qantas flights are our starting point and we’ll continue to work very hard to make sure that Australians who need to leave are able to do so.”
The free-of-charge effort will begin on Friday, when two flights will depart Ben Gurion Airport for London. Options are being worked on for Australians who will need onward support from London.
The planes are likely to be Boeing 787s, which can carry around 250 people.
Australians who want to make use of those assisted departure flights, or are unable to reach the terminal, have been advised to call the federal government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre.
Consular Emergency Centre (from overseas) +61 2 6261 3305
Consular Emergency Centre (within Australia) 1300 555 135
-AAP
