Israel's Transportation Ministry will launch Operation 'Safe Return' to bring close to 150,000 Israelis stuck abroad back home, Transport Minister Miri Regev announced Monday.
According to Regev, private airlines and the Israeli Mano Maritime shipping company will be mobilized to bring between 100,000 and 150,000 Israelis stranded across the globe home by air or by sea.
Regev noted that the operation will be carried out in accordance with the Defense Ministry. She said the Transport Ministry had initially requested helicopters and aircraft, but was unable to receive them due to constraints within the Israeli Air Force.
Therefore, Regev said, Israelis trapped abroad may be brought back on landing crafts. The Transportation Ministry will launch a specialized body to monitor the safe return of Israelis, in coordination with officials from the IDF's Home Front Command and the National Emergency Authority (RAHEL).
Furthermore, Israel will take steps to evacuate non-citizens staying in the country, including teenagers on Birthright trips and tourists, because "they do not need to be here."
Regev noted that "we will do everything to bring Israelis home," but stressed that "it will take time, it will not happen overnight." She also told Israelis stuck abroad that they "have nothing to worry about - you are abroad, enjoy."
In a message to Regev, National Unity chair MK Benny Gantz said on X/Twitter, "A woman who is elderly and waiting for surgery. A young woman whose husband fell in the war traveled for a few days and left behind a 4-year-old child in the country. These are just two cases out of thousands of stories of people who need to return home.
Your role and the government's role is not to tell them what to do – but to bring them home safely."
Rescue flights to begin within 72 hours, per Israeli reports
N12 reported on Monday that rescue flights will start within 72 hours. However, N12 noted that the plan includes only two flight landings per hour and will only land during daylight hours.
El Al also extended its flight suspension through June 23 due to the current security situation.
Ben-Gurion Airport has been closed since Thursday, and airlines canceled flights to Israel, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded abroad.
This is a developing story.