Palestinian group Hamas launched a shock cross-border attack on Israel on Saturday
Canada has announced it is planning to start evacuating its citizens from Israel, Gaza and West Bank. Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie announced via X, formerly Twitter, that they were “planning the assisted departure of Canadians from Tel Aviv” using Canadian armed forces aircraft. She added, “these flights will be available to Canadian citizens, their spouses, and their children; Canadian Permanent Residents, their spouses and their children.”
Canada is also looking for more options for those who are unable to reach the Tel Aviv airport, according to Ms Jolie’s statement. Teams in Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Ottawa are working for safe evacuation of Canadian citizens.
So far, Poland has evacuated about 250 of its citizens, largely tourists, from the war-torn West Asian region using Boeing 737, Hercules and C-295 transport planes.
Hungary Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has been updating on Facebook the progress of evacuation of its citizens. While initially, on Sunday, 215 Hungarians were airlifted, 110 more were brought to safety on Monday.
Among other European countries, Switzerland too has announced evacuation using commercial aircraft and Spain has already airlifted its nationals.
The US has so far made no official announcement regarding government-assisted evacuation of its citizens from the war-torn region. Though on October 10, it updated its travel advisory to a heightened red alert. It said, “The situation in Israel remains dynamic; mortar and rocket fire may take place without warning. Individuals should follow the instructions of security and emergency response officials… While Ben Gurion International Airport remains open, we are aware that several major airlines have announced that they have suspended flights. Please check with the airlines on the availability of flights and flight status. US citizens in Gaza who wish to leave and can do so safely are advised to check the status of the Rafah Crossing into Egypt.”
India has not started any official evacuation from the region though in the call on Monday between PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart the issue of safety and security of Indian citizens in Israel was raised. The press release from India said, Prime Minister Netanyahu assured of full cooperation and support.
India’s largest evacuation till date was from the same region – from Kuwait – during the Iraq War in 1990. India airlifted 1,70,000 citizens in Air India aircraft.
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