UK sets up first repatriation flights for citizens trying to flee Israel

France and Germany also arrange evacuation flights

Argentine citizens boarding a C-130 Hercules aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. AFP

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The first UK repatriation flight has taken off from Israel as France and Germany also schedule evacuations.

Thousands of foreigners are stuck in Israel and across the occupied Palestinian territories, where the Israeli military and Hamas are locked in the worst violence in years.

Across Europe, North America and Asia, flights are being sent to Israel for what could become the biggest international evacuation since the war in Ukraine.

The first UK flight left Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Thursday. The UK government said further flights are planned for the coming days, subject to security conditions. A British Rapid Deployment Team is in Israel to assist citizens there.

Vulnerable British citizens will be prioritised for the first flights, the Foreign Office said. It added that since the Hamas attack in Israel, British officials have been working to support citizens in Israel and Gaza.

Germany said it was working with Lufthansa to organise “several special flights” on Thursday and Friday to repatriate German citizens.

“Around 4,500 German citizens” have registered on a list seeking help to return, a foreign ministry source said.

About 180 Greek nationals have been evacuated from Israel so far.

The US State Department is arranging charter flights to assist its citizens and their immediate family members who have been unable to book commercial transport out of Israel.

From there, people will be able to make their own onward travel arrangements to the destination of their choice.

At UN headquarters in New York City, Rachel Zeitchik, right, and Jay Zeitchik attend an event for families of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas. AFP

Palestinians flee from northern Gaza towards the south after the Israeli army demanded the population of more than a million people leave before a ground invasion. AP

Demonstrators at a rally in support of Palestine face a counter-demonstration in support of Israel near Times Square in New York. EPA

Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning. AP

An injured man is rescued from the rubble of a building following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip. AP

Mourners take cover as sirens sound during the funeral of Tom Godo, killed during the attack by Hamas militants on the Kibbutz Kisuffim last week, in Kibbutz Naan near Tel Aviv. AFP

A Palestinian man flashes the victory sign as he and others leave northern Gaza before an expected Israeli ground offensive. AFP

Palestinians head south with their belongings after being ordered by Israel to leave northern Gaza on Friday. AFP

Israel ordered more than a million Palestinians to head south within 24 hours. Reuters

The UN criticised the directive, saying forcing such a large number of people to flee en masse would be catastrophic. Reuters

Gazans have to travel about 15km if they live in the northernmost part of the strip to reach the area south of the Wadi Gaza. Reuters

The UN said that more than 423,000 people have already fled their homes in the territory, with a sizeable number making the more than 10km journey on foot. Reuters

Palestinians with their belongings flee to safer areas in Gaza City. AFP

An Armoured Personnel Carrier drives near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Reuters

Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gather for mass Friday prayer during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

A Palestinian woman waits to cross into Jerusalem's Old City through Damascus Gate next to Israeli soldiers. AFP

Israeli army infantry fighting vehicles deploy along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. AFP

Israeli soldiers detain a man while on patrol near Kibbutz Beeri, near the Gaza Strip. AFP

Students hold in a rally in support of Palestine at Columbia University in New York. Getty Images

Family and friends mourn Valentin Ghnassia, 23, who was killed in a battle with Palestinian militants at Kibbutz Beeri near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip. Getty Images

A ball of fire erupts in Gaza city after an Israeli air strike. AFP

Palestinians inspect the rubble of buildings hit by an Israeli air strike at Al Shati refugee camp. AP

A fireball erupts from an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AFP

People waiting for news of victims outside the morgue at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. AFP

A girl mourns the death of members of the Samour family, who were killed in Israeli strikes on their house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters

Israelis arrive to sign up at a weapons distribution point for people allowed to carry arms, at the Ayyelet HaShahar Kibbutz in northern Israel, near the Lebanese border. AFP

Mourners outside the morgue at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City as battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for a sixth consecutive day. AFP

Men dig graves to bury members of the Samour family, who were killed in Israeli strikes on their house in Khan Younis. Reuters

Palestinian children who fled their homes during Israeli strikes, play at a United Nations-run school in Gaza City. Reuters

Israeli soldiers near a self-propelled howitzer near the border with Gaza in southern Israel. AFP

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, left, welcomes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken upon arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. AFP

Palestinian children in a makeshift shelter at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Reuters

Boxes of humanitarian aid and supplies from Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation destined for Gaza, in Amman, Jordan. Reuters

Palestinians outside Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on the sixth day of fighting between Israel and Hamas. AFP

A pro-Israel vigil in Montevideo, Uruguay. EPA

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has announced a special Air France flight from Tel Aviv on Thursday to help repatriate any French nationals who have been unable to leave.

The Austrian government said it repatriated 98 people late on Wednesday. The group comprised 83 Austrians and 15 others, including Dutch, German, Hungarian, Israeli, Spanish and United States citizens.

The Danish government has organised an evacuation of its citizens in the “coming days”. Around 1,200 Danish nationals are in Israel and 90 in Palestinian territories.

Finland has vowed to evacuate its citizens from affected regions.

Norway organised a flight on Wednesday evening for its citizens stuck in Israel and Palestinian territories. There are around 500 Norwegian nationals in the region.

Portugal repatriated 152 of its nationals on Wednesday morning, as well as 14 other Europeans, in a Portuguese military aircraft. A flight on Thursday took another 22 people, eight Portuguese and 14 other people, out of Israel

The Icelandic government has repatriated 126 of its nationals, as well as five from the Faroe Islands, four Norwegians and 12 Germans.

Spain organised a flight from Tel Aviv overnight on Tuesday-Wednesday with 209 people on board, 185 of them Spaniards and others from European nations and Latin America.

A second flight also arrived back carrying 220 passengers, including 149 Spanish nationals.

A flight evacuating Swedish nationals is due to leave Tel Aviv Thursday evening.

There are about 3,000 Swedes in Israel and 800 in the Palestinian territories.

Swiss International Air Lines have repatriated 435 Swiss nationals.

Two more flights are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

Around 28,000 Swiss citizens and their families are officially registered as living in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Two military planes carrying 287 Mexicans repatriated from Israel and the Palestinian territories arrived in Mexico on Wednesday, the country's Foreign Minister said.

The government said that about 1,000 people had requested help to return to Mexico. It was unclear if it was organising more flights.

According to official data, about 5,000 Mexicans reside in Israel, two in the Gaza Strip and 35 in the West Bank.

Canada on Wednesday sent two army aircraft to cope with a “surge in demand” to fly about 700 Canadians home “in the coming days”, said Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

More than 4,200 Canadian citizens are registered with Ottawa's consular services in Israel and another 470 in the Palestinian territories.

Argentina, the Latin American country with the largest Jewish population, on Tuesday started evacuating more than 1,200 of its citizens from Israel.

Three air force flights a day will take the 1,246 Argentines who have asked to be evacuated to the Italian capital, Rome, Defence Minister Jorge Taiana said. From there, state-owned airline Aerolineas Argentinas will fly them to Buenos Aires.

Brazil's government plans to mobilise at least six planes in a bid to rapidly repatriate any of its citizens who wish to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories.

A first flight, carrying 211 Brazilians, returned before dawn on Wednesday. A second is due back in Brazil on Thursday.

Nigeria has airlifted 310 of its citizens back home after they fled to Jordan from Israel, where they were on a Christian pilgrimage, the Lagos state government said.

A flight carrying 192 South Korean citizens took off from Tel Aviv and landed near Seoul early on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said.

Another 30 South Korean nationals will be evacuated later in the week on commercial flights, it said. A further 27, who were in Israel on a Christian pilgrimage, will go by road to neighbouring Jordan.

More than 5,000 Thai nationals are seeking to return home from Israel, where about 30,000 citizens of the south-east Asian nation work and live.