Israel launches airlift to bring home stranded citizens after Iran strikes

By Steven Scheer and Michele Kambas

TEL AVIV/NICOSIA (Reuters) -Israel on Wednesday launched a phased airlift operation to bring home its citizens, after the country's military strike on Iran closed air space across the Middle East, leaving tens of thousands of Israelis stuck overseas.

The first rescue flight, operated by national carrier El Al, touched down at Tel Aviv Airport early Wednesday morning, returning passengers from Larnaca, Cyprus.

Worldwide, Israel's transport ministry estimates that more than 50,000 Israelis, stranded after airlines halted flights to the country, are trying to come home.

Foreign citizens have also been fleeing Iran overland. China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by overland bus on Tuesday. Hundreds of other foreign nationals fled to neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan.

El Al has said repatriation flights are already scheduled from Athens, Rome, Milan, Paris, Budapest and London. Smaller carriers Arkia and Israir are also taking part.

"We are very emotional about receiving the first rescue flight as part of 'Safe Return'," Transportation Minister Miri Regev told the captain of the arriving El Al flight before it landed.

While many Israelis want to come back, around 38,000 tourists are stranded in Israel, with much of the country in lockdown, and all the museums and holy sites closed.

The Tourism Ministry said on Wednesday it would start coordinating flights out, while around 1,500 Americans on a Jewish heritage programme were evacuated to Cyprus via a cruise ship, which will now sail back with Israeli citizens aboard.

"We didn't sleep for nights on end. We are all very exhausted and it's a sigh of relief," said Dorian, 20, from New York, after he had disembarked.

"In Israel, I was very afraid. I was never used to anything like that. Sirens, missiles, or anything like that. New York is pretty much very safe and this was new to me."

Iran has fired more than 400 ballistic missiles at Israel since Friday, triggering air raid sirens and a rush to bunkers. At least 24 people, all civilians, have died so far in the strikes, according to Israeli authorities.

Iranian officials have reported at least 224 deaths, mostly civilians, though that toll has not been updated for days.

CYPRUS HUB

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport has been closed to passenger traffic since Israel launched its pre-dawn attack on Friday and commercial aircraft are sitting out the war in foreign air fields.

The Airports Authority reinforced staffing on Wednesday to ensure arriving passengers left the airport quickly. Relatives were advised to avoid travelling to pick up family members for security reasons.

The airlift is being carried out in stages, based on risk levels and security assessments, a spokesperson for the Airports Authority said.

Large numbers of Israelis seeking to get home have converged on Cyprus, the European Union member state closest to Israel. Flights from the coastal city of Larnaca to Tel Aviv take 50 minutes.

Nine flights were expected to depart Cyprus on Wednesday for Haifa, and four for Tel Aviv, carrying about 1,000 people, sources at Cypriot airport operator Hermes said.

Cruise operator Mano Maritime, whose "Crown Iris" ship carries 2,000 passengers, has said it will make two crossings from Cyprus to Israel's Mediterranean port city of Haifa.

(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Kim Coghill, Alexandra Hudson)