JERUSALEM – More than 20,000 Israelis have returned home since the Iran air war erupted on February 28, Israel’s Transportation Ministry reported Thursday, with around 120,000 more abroad eager to follow as airspace cautiously reopens.
Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv welcomed its first flights Thursday, Israir and Arkia from Rome, plus an El Al from Athens, after closure on February 28 due to U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked retaliatory missile barrages, stranding tens of thousands.
The ministry anticipates a seven-to-10-day operation to bring back the rest, leveraging air, land, and sea routes. Most arrivals so far have crossed into the Red Sea resort of Eilat from Egypt’s Taba or Jordan’s Aqaba via special repatriation flights by El Al, Israir, Arkia, and Air Haifa.
Only inbound flights operate now, limited to one per hour amid ongoing Iranian missile threats; outgoing services resume March 8 with 50-passenger caps. Airlines have paused ticket sales through March 21 to prioritize stranded passengers.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev, a former brigadier-general, pledged round-the-clock efforts. “We are doing everything to return every Israeli home safely,” she said, noting expanded options despite security limits. Nearly 300,000 Israelis had flown out in the prior three months.