British expats and tourists boarded an evacuation flight out of Israel last night after days of delays.
The Royal Air Force has been brought in to evacuate Brits from the country ahead of the Israeli military’s land offensive on Gaza as ‘further flights are to be expected’.
A family of three and a pregnant woman were among dozens queuing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to take a Foreign Office charter jet to London‘s Gatwick Airport.
An Airbus A400M transport made two return flights from Cyprus to Tel Aviv on Friday night, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
A said: ‘Further flights are expected to leave in the coming days while commercial flights are limited’.
Teacher Revital Pavey and her husband Paul told how they had decided to take their children back to Britain to shield them from the escalating violence engulfing Israel.
Mother-of-three Revital told MailOnline: ‘We don’t want our children to witness what is about to happen in Gaza.
‘We were already evacuated from our home on a kibbutz in the north, close to the Lebanese border. There were some incursions by terrorists into the area and it is only going to get worse.
British expats and tourists boarded an evacuation flight out of Israel last night after days of delays
A family of three and a pregnant woman were among dozens queuing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport
They are waiting to take a Foreign Office charter jet to London’s Gatwick Airport ahead of the Israeli military’s land offensive on Gaza
‘We don’t want our kids having to rush to the shelters all through the day. We don’t want them to think that war is normal.’
Her husband Paul said: ‘We don’t really know where we are going to go. We have family in the north, around Sheffield.
‘We don’t know how long we will stay, but we want to go back to Britain.
‘We have been thinking of leaving Israel for a while.’
Painter Liz Shani told how she had lived through numerous conflict after moving to Israel to get married and raise a family 34 years ago on a kibbutz in the south of the country.
But she revealed she felt compelled to return to Britain because her daughter Ella is now expecting her first child in just two months time.
Liz, 60, told MailOnline: ‘The whole world needs to know what happened in the south of Israel – the massacres, the rapes, the kidnapping.
‘I have lived through many conflicts but nothing like this.
‘My daughter Ella is seven months pregnant. I could not let her be in danger like that. Her husband is with his army unit and is preparing to go into Gaza.’
She added: ‘When the rockets and coming over and you are hiding in the shelter you only think of yourself and your family.
Pictured are a family of four waiting in the airport in hope to reach safety after days of destruction in the country
Many were pictured in high spirits over the prospect of getting back home safely to their families
An American flag was spotted among those waiting for the flight to get back home
‘But afterwards, when things have settled down, I think of the women and children in Gaza.
‘How can their leaders let them be human shields.
‘We are all victims of this war.
‘I hope that when the fighting is over and Hamas has been broken, the new leaders in Gaza will take care of their people and not put them in harm’s way.’
Grandmother June Bennett, from Southport, Merseyside, simply wants to go home.
The 86-year-old had spent five weeks visiting her expat son and daughter and attending their weddings in Tel Aviv.
But her return EasyJet flight home last Sunday – 24 hours after Hamas’ devastating attack inside Israel – was cancelled. And all other flights were first delayed, then cancelled.
June told MailOnline: ‘I just want to go home. I’ve loved seeing my son, my daughter and attending my two grandchildren’s weddings.
The airport has seen hundreds queuing today as many brought their own chairs in anticipation of the long journey home
Families holding new born babies could be seen desperately trying to flee the country to get back on home soil
‘But I just want to be at home, surrounded by my things, my friends, my normal routine.’
Her son expat son Philip, 61, a tour guide, added: ‘Mum just wants to go home. First EasyJet say the flight is delayed, then it’s cancelled. Even the evacuation flight – which was meant to go last night – has been delayed.’
Holidaymaker Angela Nlewedim has been stranded in Tel Aviv for almost a week when her return Virgin Atlantic flight last Sunday was cancelled.
Angela, 56, a social worker, from Horley, Surrey, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve been trying to get home for a week.
‘My Virgin Atlantic flight on Sunday was cancelled and now they’ve stopped flying here all together.
‘I’ve suffer from arthritis and I’ve run out of my meds.
‘I’ve spent a fortune on hotels and transport. We have even had to pay £300 for the evacuation flight!
‘I want to get home.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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