Israel-Iran conflict: Hungarian and EU evacuation operation, Wizz Air announcement
The Israeli-Iranian conflict has already caused enormous damage on both sides, and the war situation has caused many problems for people living in or traveling to the Middle East due to evacuations and air traffic diversions.
Iran launches fresh wave of missile strikes towards Israel
According to Anadolu, Iran launched a new barrage of missile strikes against Israeli targets on Monday, according to a report by state media.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched a fresh wave of missile strikes—the eighth since Friday—against the occupied territories (Israel),” state-run Press TV said.
Israeli Channel 12 said air raid sirens sounded in the Haifa, Krayot, Galilee, and Lower Galilee regions.
A few missiles were identified after a barrage of missiles was launched from Iran toward northern Israel, where interceptions were heard, Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.
Israeli Army Radio reported that three ballistic missiles were launched from Iran, one of them was intercepted, and two fell in open areas to the north.
The Israeli army said sirens sounded in several areas in northern Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran.
It asked the public “to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.”
Later, the army said after the situational assessment, the Home Front Command asked people that they are “now permitted to leave protected spaces.”
No casualties have been reported as of yet.
Regional tensions have escalated since Friday, when Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said that at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks since Friday.
EU members prepare to evacuate their nationals from Israel
According to Anadolu, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland announced on Monday that they are preparing to evacuate their nationals from Israel for their own safety, amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Citing the Czech Foreign Ministry, public broadcaster Radio Prague said: “A repatriation flight is being sent to evacuate Czech citizens from Israel, where they registered with the embassy in Tel Aviv.” Czech Ambassador to Israel Veronika Kuchynova Smigolova explained that a convoy carrying Czech citizens evacuating Israel set off on Monday morning toward the border of a neighboring country which she declined to name due to security concerns. The government plane with a capacity of about 80 seats is expected to be essentially full, she said, adding that there may be more evacuation flights in the future.
Likewise, Poland’s Defense Ministry announced that free flights will evacuate some 200 Polish nationals now in Israel, according to public broadcaster TVP. It noted that the evacuations are expected to involve a journey by land to Amman, Jordan, followed by flights back to Poland. They could also be evacuated by sea, it added.
Moreover, Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre head Vilmantas Vitkauskas said the country’s citizens in Israel will be evacuated by land as the country’s airspace is closed. Evacuees will travel from Tel Aviv to border crossings with Jordan or Egypt, and from there be flown out, most likely on a chartered flight from King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, Jordan.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov also said Monday said there is a concrete plan for the evacuation of Bulgarian citizens from Israel, but the government is waiting for the most opportune moment, reported the state-run BTA news agency.
Several evacuation operations are underway to rescue Hungarians
Several evacuation operations are underway in the Middle East to rescue Hungarian citizens, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on Monday in Budapest. The minister reported that the situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly serious, with Iran and Israel now attacking not only each other’s capitals but also several other locations.
“This increases the number of Hungarians who may be in danger, so more and more Hungarians want to return home to be safe,” he pointed out.
“Of course, as in every crisis situation, we are organizing the return of Hungarians, but since both Iran and Israel have closed their airspace, (…) the evacuation operations are a little more complex and complicated than usual,” he added.
Péter Szijjártó explained that, as usual, the government will only provide information about the evacuation operations once those affected are safe. “Therefore, all I can tell you at this point is that we are conducting several complex evacuation operations in several Middle Eastern countries,” he said. “These are largely independent operations, partly in cooperation with the Slovaks, with whom we are working closely on this issue,” he added.
read also – Hungarian FM Szijjártó: Non-stop consular services operating at Tel-Aviv embassy
Wizz Air extends suspension of flights to Tel Aviv, Amman
Hungarian low cost carrier Wizz Air has said it is extending the suspension of its flights to Tel Aviv and Amman until September 15 in light of the escalation of the situation in the Middle East and airspace closures in the region.
Wizz Air’s flights will also avoid the airspace of Israel, Iraq, Iran and Syria, it said in a statement.
The carrier said it will continue to consult with the relevant authorities and security services and monitor the situation in the Middle East.
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