Foreign Office: Evacuation flights from Israel Thursday and Friday

Lufthansa will operate several special flights to evacuate Germans from Israel this Thursday and Friday. This was announced by the Foreign Office on Tuesday evening. There should be four flights per day. The crisis reaction center of the German Foreign Ministry had previously negotiated under high pressure with airlines to expand flight capacities.

Around 900 people have been killed in Israel since Saturday in a large-scale terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel. In addition, more than 2,900 people in Israel were injured. Hamas members also kidnapped around 150 people in the Gaza Strip. Since then, numerous German citizens have been waiting to leave the country.

Foreign Ministry: Final details are being clarified

The Foreign Office said in the evening that the final technical details were being clarified at the moment. The Foreign Ministry in Berlin wants to inform German citizens registered in the “Elefand” crisis preparedness list this Wednesday about how to book tickets for the special flights with Lufthansa. German citizens who are not yet registered and want to leave the country should immediately add themselves to the list, it said.

With the recording in the “Elefand” system, Germans abroad can be quickly informed by German representations in acute crisis cases and included in possible crisis measures.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had previously asked Germans waiting to leave Israel for understanding on ZDF. “We started evacuation flights with other airlines. We arranged flight connections through the crisis hotline – those who were at the airport could contact us -. You then had to change on some routes. I understand that this was a terrible situation Situation is, but when you have 100,000 calls at the same time, then you have to prioritize.”