An Australian man has revealed his terrifying ordeal after he was forced to leave his partner behind in Israel as he fled the war-torn country on a repatriation flight.
Speaking from Heathrow Airport on Saturday, Blake Jory described his conflicting emotions after making the difficult decision to leave behind his Israeli partner who had been called up to serve in the country’s reserve forces.
The first Australian repatriation flight landed at Heathrow airport in London at 7.45pm local time (5.45am+1 AEDT) after departing Ben Gurion Airport at 4.25pm local time (12.25am+1 AEDT).
Mr Jory was one of 220 Aussies on board the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Blake Jory (above) made the difficult decision to leave behind his Israeli partner who had been called up to serve in the country’s reserve forces
Mr Jory said his Israeli partner has been called up for service as a reservist, forcing him to leave her in the country while he waits in London before returning to home soil.
‘It’s really hard. Today’s been an extremely tough day,’ Jory told the Today Show.
‘We made the decision for me to come… Leave Israel because it could get really messy really soon.
‘She’s going to go into the south, into the war zone.
‘I’m just praying for her and thinking about her every second.’
Mr Jory said his partner was happy to fight for her country and defend her people.
‘After what happened on Saturday, I don’t blame her,’ he said.
He said he felt immense relief at having fled the war zone.
‘I’m feeling much better a lot safer,’ he said.
Mr Jory said the mood on the Qantas repatriation flight was uplifting.
‘Qantas was making everyone feel really comfortable and they were doing such a great job… like, everyone was smiling,’ he said.
He said he saw fellow evacuees ‘smile for the first time’ since Hamas launched a devastating terror attack on October 7.
Mr Jory was one of 220 Aussies on board the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner which landed in London at 5.45am+1 AEDT on Saturday
Two more repatriation flights for Australians will leave Tel Aviv and fly to London on Sunday and Tuesday
‘Coming from the conflict in Israel and seeing, you know, these horrible things happen,’ he said.
‘You know the streets are empty … people are down, people, you know, are not in good moods over there.
A second Qantas 236-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner will leave Tel Aviv on route to London on Sunday.
On Tuesday, a Qantas Airbus A380 will depart London and land in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon, offering 484 seats to Australian-Israeli refugees free of charge.
All will be provided with accommodation in London while they wait for a flight back to Australia on Tuesday.
Australians have been welcomed in London after getting on board the repatriation flight from Tel Aviv
Mr Jory said he saw fellow evacuees ‘smile for the first time’ since Hamas launched a devastating terror attack on October 7 (stock image pictured)
Australians hoping to catch rescue flights out of Israel this week slammed the Albanese Government after realising the planes are dropping them off in London, rather than taking them home.
One woman who didn’t want to be named told Daily Mail Australia she’s grateful the planes are available, but said people are frustrated because they’re going to England and there hasn’t been any communication about connecting flights.
She said there was further concern because two aircrafts have a combined capacity of about 1,200 people, which could mean 8,000 others miss out.
‘Does it count as repatriation if they’re not brought home, but are taken five hours further away from home?’ she asked.
‘This creates another stressful and expensive experience for travellers who are already exhausted and traumatised.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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