The war with Iran is expected to last weeks rather than days, according to US and Israeli officials, CNN reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis are stranded abroad after Israel closed its airspace following the launch of the IDF attack on Iran overnight Thursday.
Israel’s Airports Authority on Sunday warned citizens overseas to avoid traveling to regional hubs such as Athens or Larnaca in hopes of catching a flight home.
“There is no recommendation for Israelis abroad to travel to Larnaca or Athens at this stage,” the authority said in a statement.
“Even once flights resume, operations will be limited to minimize risks and ensure safety. Travelers should expect to wait days before they can return.”
Additionally, Israel’s National Security Council on Sunday warned Israelis not to try to return home via Jordan or Egypt, saying that both countries currently pose severe risk to Israelis.
They are under Level 4 warnings, which means that those in the country should leave immediately and traveling there is prohibited
Shmuel Zakai, the head of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority, told Channel 12 on Motzei Shabbos that it will take “weeks, not days” for stranded Israelis to be brought home.
Also on Motzei Shabbos, Transportation Minister Miri Regev said that Israel had flown all aircraft out of Israel to protect them.
“The planes are now ready to bring Israelis home once the skies reopen and security officials give the green light,” she said, adding that the return would be very gradual.
“We will not bring everyone back at once,” she said. “It will be a complex mission carried out with the Airports Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Population Authority.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
Fly them into cyprus and then ferry them to Israel
So in other words, if someone has a plot in Israel & dies, they shan’t be able to be buried in Israel. & numerous people shall miss personal שמחות including Chassanim & Kallos not being able to get to their own weddings, but if there is a Ms. World contest or a sports contest, or some world leader scheduled to fly in, there shall be no problem whatsoever for them to travel.
Let me remind everyone:- It was never Netanyahu who reopened the Israel skies following Corona:- It was נפתלי Bennett
We are talking about saving a whole country from a possible holocaust – not sure what your beef is with someone trying to save Jewish lives. Unfortunately sacrifices need to be made to save millions of Jews. I was supposed to visit my kids in Israel -I feel bad I can’t but its a small price to pay for safety. The Ms. world comment is childish say tehillim instead
There are plenty of Americans stuck in Israel, including some who need to return for work, simchos, boys or girls coming home for the summer, etc. It’s very hard on a lot of people, and they are all in the same boat.
This is a very difficult situation but I truly believe one that is absolutely necessary to save Israel from the threat of annihilation.
My son is there and may have his return trip cancelled, but like most yeshiva students at least he has a safe place to stay and clothes to wear if his trip is extended. Many others who were traveling are caught with far less accommodating circumstances. Some are separated from their families and are having to cough up money for hotels and unexpected costs. My daughter’s HS 12 grade is stuck there with some of their Morot, who left young children at home. We just need to pray and pray that everyone stays safe and Hashem blesses Israel to be successful at this operation.
We’ll freeze the bodies an extra few weeks, as if the people living in America their whole life and then dumping their corpse in Israel (already not so pashut) are very strict about halacha of being buried fast
So sixty thousand homos came to Israel for their toeiva Tel Aviv parade but got cancelled due to the war. Now Israel is stick with sixty thousand sodomites while the big rabbonim left to America to make the big appeal. How interesting.
To 147 What in the world are you talking about. During COVID the airport was still open so some were able to get in. Now the airports are closed. I did hear of some people who took a flight to Egypt and drove about 2 hours to Israel. But this option is highly not recommended.
To 147 What in the world are you talking about. During COVID the airport was still open so some were able to get in. Now the airports are closed. I did hear of some people who took a flight to Egypt and drove about 2 hours to Israel. But this option is highly not recommended for security reasons.
147 – Avner Netanyahu (the son of) was supposed to get married this Tuesday. Nobody is flying to Israel this week for any reason whatsoever.
Let me remind everyone:- It was never Netanyahu who reopened the Israel skies following Corona:- It was נפתלי Bennett
Maybe that has more to do with WHEN Bennett was prime minister than with WHAT his views are?
ah yid – To drive from the nearest airport at Sharm-el-Sheikh, to the border crossing at Taba-Eilat, is almost three hours through some not-so-friendly territory. The Karlin-Stolin Rebbe apparently did that, with heavy security. Jordan is problematic due to being on the flight path of missiles from Iran (flights have been canceled there as well). I don’t know about the boat option. During the first days after Simchas Torah 5784, there was an evacuation ‘cruise’ from Haifa to Larnaca on Cyprus for American citizens. The bombardment now is much more dangerous than it was then, and the Haifa Port area (with huge oil refineries) has already been targeted.
rebemes; Your comments are highly distasteful. We don’t freeze bodies or dump corpses. The same situation happened in the first months of the covid outbreak. Many niftarim were buried here in the Chesed Shel Emes bais hachaim al tnay that they would be moved to EY when possible.
Unless Trump decides to assist Israel in taking out Iran’s deeply buried enrichment facilities and nuclear materials with “bunker buster” bombs carried by American aircraft, the slow and incremental process of weakening Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will likely take weeks. While this may inconvenience those with vacation and school plans and even a small number of families planning to bury a niftar in EY, the military objectives must be given priority. With 10% of incoming missiles carrying 1,000 lb warheads getting through the defenses, the risk of mass-casualty events is too great to risk reopening the airports.