UK announces charter flights from Tel Aviv for British nationals fleeing Israel

Plan follows other countries' evacuations and relies on airport reopening

Israelis disembark from a coach after being flown back to Tel Aviv on repatriation flights. AFP

The UK is working to charter flights to evacuate British nationals from Israel, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Friday, days after other major European countries began their own evacuations.

Thousands of foreign nationals have been fleeing Israel and Iran across borders into neighbouring countries, after the escalating conflict led to the closure of airspaces in both countries.

The UK government told its nationals requiring evacuation from Israel to register at the British embassy. But many have already travelled to the Jordanian and Egyptian borders.

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Mr Lammy said the UK government would provide flights directly out of Tel Aviv once the airspace opened. The city's airport has been closed since the strikes began last week.

“As part of our efforts to support British nationals in the Middle East, the government is working with the Israeli authorities to provide charter flights from Tel Aviv airport when airspace reopens, based on levels of demand from British nationals,” he said.

“British nationals should register their presence in Israel and the [occupied Palestinian territories] to be contacted with further guidance on these flights.”

Mr Lammy added: “Land routes out of Israel remain open and UK staff are on hand to support British nationals who have crossed the border. This will include providing, transport – subject to demand – to nearby airports for onward commercial flights.”

Frustration with the UK grew when the United States announced its plans to evacuate citizens on charter flights and cruise ships on Wednesday.

Australia evacuated 1,200 people from Israel on Wednesday, its foreign minister Penny Wong said. Around 2,000 Australians in Iran had registered for assistance.

France was providing buses for its nationals in Israel from the Jordanian border to a flight chartered from Amman, and a convoy will take people from Iran to the Turkish or Armenian borders by the end of the week.

Germany provided a charter flight from Amman for 345 citizens on Wednesday.

Sofia, a dual UK-US citizen, returned to London on Tuesday after crossing into Egypt by road. She said help is needed for British nationals exiting Israel overland once they cross the borders into Egypt or Jordan.

She first called the British embassy last Sunday, where she was told there were no plans for evacuation.

On Monday, embassy staff told her there could be up to a two-week wait for evacuations, as they expected Iran to reject requests for an air corridor out of Tel Aviv.

Nonetheless, the contact with the British embassy reassured her, as the phone lines to the US Embassy were not working.

"There was no actual help [from the UK embassy] but at least they were reassuring us that there might be help," she said.

She chose to travel by road to Egypt with a group after hearing that, although it would be easier to get to Amman, the Jordanian airspace was likely to be closed regularly because of Iranian missiles crossing that territory.

The hardest part was travelling across Egypt to Cairo airport, as she was not familiar with the country and felt unsafe there because she had come from Israel.

"Once there [in Egypt], I felt like we were on our own," she said.

She was disappointed that the British embassy in Egypt had not provided transport or support. "They should have, but they didn't," she said.

Her daughter in London said she had spent days on the phone ringing the consulate in Jordan, and the Foreign Office, to no avail.

"Nobody had any information, no plans, nothing. The day my mum left for Egypt, Czech citizens were already landing in Prague and the UK government had only just released the forms to sign up," she said.