Children orphaned on Oct 7 stranded at airport; were traveling to retreat after Hamas fired at Tel Aviv

A group of children orphaned by the October 7 Hamas massacre have been stranded at Ben Gurion Airport after a flight they were supposed to be on was canceled due to the rocket strikes on central Israel earlier today, the One Family organization says.

The group of 33 passengers, comprised of children and their guardians, was supposed to be traveling to Mexico as part of a therapeutic program to help them process their grief, the organization says. However, after the Hamas rocket attacks on central Israel — the first in four months — Iberia Airlines canceled the flight, and no alternative solution or compensation was offered to the group.

“The group has been stuck at Ben Gurion Airport without any answers from officials or alternative solutions,” One Family says in a statement to the press.

“We are in a very frustrating situation,” One Family CEO Chantal Belzberg says. “These orphans lost both their parents in the October 7 attack and have been waiting for many weeks to go on this One Family trip, which is part of our therapeutic program to help them process their grief and bereavement.

“This is a part of the people of Israel that currently needs all the stability and security as humanly possible. We wanted to provide them with that, and they are experiencing upheaval,” Belzeberg adds.

“I call on Iberia Airlines and the Israel Airports Authority to find a solution for the participants so that they can begin this important journey.”