Key Takeaways
- Around 1,600 Australians have signed up for government‑assisted repatriation.
- Qantas is providing two free flights from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
- The first flight will carry over 200 passengers and a third flight is being chartered.
- The Australian government is coordinating with Egypt to evacuate a family from Gaza.
Canberra: The Australian government has been working to repatriate Australian citizens stranded in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday said that an extraordinary logistical exercise is underway to get 1,600 Australians in the region who have registered for government-assisted repatriation.
The government has organized two free flights operated by the country’s flag carrier Qantas from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport. The first flight will depart on Friday with more than 200 passengers on board. A third flight has also been chartered.
Of the 1,600 Australians who have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for assisted departure from the region, Albanese told state media the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that 19 are located in Gaza.
He said that the government was in conversation with the government of Egypt to get a family of four South Australians out of Gaza through its southern border.
