Israel Begins Emergency Evacuation of Citizens Amid War

Israelis stranded around the world are taking extreme—and sometimes bizarre—measures to get home as war erupts between Israel and Iran. With Tel Aviv under rocket attack and nearly a million people sheltering underground, the Israeli government has launched “Operation Safe Return” to rescue citizens caught abroad.

On Wednesday morning, the first emergency flight finally landed at Ben Gurion Airport. But with airspace still largely closed after Israeli fighter jets struck Iran last week, many have had to improvise—sometimes with astonishing creativity.

Yaakov Katz, a former editor of The Jerusalem Post, found himself stuck in Cyprus after his U.S. flight was rerouted. He spent two days stranded before joining eight other desperate Israelis for a grueling 17-hour journey back to Israel on a tugboat. “Nine of us squeezed onto a vessel captained by Eli, a veteran Israeli sailor who didn’t ask questions—just took the wheel,” Katz recalled. “It wasn’t comfortable, but I needed to be home with my family while our country is at war.”

Others are cobbling together patchwork travel routes. Shimi Grossman, a volunteer with the Zaka rescue agency, traveled from the U.S. to London, then to Egypt, and was planning to take a taxi across the southern border to Israel. “I needed to get back so I could help the people in Israel,” he said.

Back in Israel, the attacks have left more than 20 dead, buildings destroyed, and families huddling in bomb shelters. Some, like Josh Hantman in London, are glued to their phones as missile strikes rain down near their loved ones. “It’s torture,” he said after watching a missile hit just a mile from his family’s home.

Transport Minister Miri Regev says the government is ramping up efforts, with Israeli airlines on standby abroad, ready to fly home once the skies are safe. A maritime evacuation route is also being prepared from Cyprus and Greece, though Israelis are being warned to avoid crossing through Egypt or Jordan.

For some, rescue can’t come soon enough. Uzi Sofer was set to fly home from Boston for his daughter’s wedding but was stranded in Budapest, waiting for a government flight. His daughter postponed the ceremony. “God willing, in July, I’ll get to celebrate twice—the wedding and Israel’s victory over Iran,” he said.

As Israel’s war with Iran rages on, for many Israelis abroad, just making it home has become its own life-or-death journey.