Tugboats, cruise ships and flights: Israel begins emergency evacuation of citizens amid Iran war

JERUSALEM – An emergency flight carrying Israelis stranded overseas due to the fighting with Iran landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning, part of a special government operation to get them home. 

Some 100,000 to 150,000 Israelis were abroad when Israel Defense Forces fighter jets began striking Iran overnight on Thursday – seeking to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and its cache of conventional weapons.

Israel immediately closed its airspace, halting all flights into the country, but some people have been so desperate to get home – despite the volleys of deadly ballistic missiles that have caused widespread damage and fatalities – that they have found some unconventional routes. 

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Yaakov Katz, an author and former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, had his flight from the U.S. rerouted to Cyprus on Thursday night as Israel launched its opening strike on Iran. 

In a lengthy social media post, he described being stuck for two days before finding a tugboat to take him and eight others back to Israel. 

“Nine of us squeezed onto a vessel captained by Eli, a veteran Israeli sailor who didn’t ask questions – just took the wheel,” he wrote in the post. 

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Katz said the boat ride was not simple. 

“I can’t say it was the best conditions, but it was definitely doable for 17 hours,” he described, adding that he wanted to be with his wife and four children while “our country is at war.” 

“The thought of not being at home and not being with my family was very difficult, and despite the risks and, of course, the war itself, there’s no place I think any Israeli would want to be at a time like this,” said Katz.

Shimi Grossman, a volunteer with rescue agency Zaka, also said he could not wait. 

He has spent the last two days making his way from the U.S. to London, then to Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt. Speaking to Fox News Digital from there, Grossman said he was now planning to take a taxi to Israel’s southern border crossing in Taba. 

“I needed to get back so I could help the people in Israel,” said the medical volunteer. 

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Others have waited tensely, watching as the missiles hit the country, sending civilians running into shelters, toppling buildings and killing more than 20 people. 

“It’s torture,” Josh Hantman, who was watching from London, told Fox News Digital.

On Tuesday, a missile hit a bus depot less than a mile from his home. “Watching a ballistic missile, the size of a bus falling near your home where you know your wife and small kids are, it’s incredibly difficult,” he said. 

Transport Minister Miri Regev said the government was working on a detailed plan to bring all Israel’s citizens home. 

Domestic airlines, she said, had already been relocated abroad and were waiting for an all-clear to return with passengers. Regev also said a “maritime route” from Cyprus and Greece would soon open. Israelis have been warned from traveling through neighboring Egypt and Jordan.  

For Uzi Sofer, the rescue flights came too late. On a business trip to Boston last week, he was returning to celebrate his daughter’s wedding on Wednesday.

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“I was supposed to fly back on Friday for the wedding this week,” he said, describing how he managed to reach Budapest, Hungary, but was now waiting for a rescue flight. 

Realizing her father would not make it back in time, however, his daughter decided to postpone her nuptials until next month.

“I’m not stressed now, but I still want to be in Israel, I want to be with my family,” he said, adding, “God willing, in July, I will get to celebrate twice – the wedding and Israel’s victory over Iran.”