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Saturday, July 18, 2026
Dozens of US refueling jets to be stationed at Israeli airbases, not Ben Gurion Airport — IDF
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Dozens of additional aerial refueling tankers that the American military is sending to Israel will be landing and stationed at Israeli airbases, rather than Ben Gurion Airport, according to the military.
This is in order to minimize disruption to civilian transportation routes. Israel’s Transportation Ministry had already limited the number of tankers at Ben Gurion to 20 to try and fight summer flight disruptions.
The decision to send the tankers to Israeli airbases was made by the US in coordination with the Israeli military, which allowed the Israeli Air Force to make preparations.
The military says it is acting to enable the US’s deployment in Israel as much as possible while preserving Israel’s civilian aviation needs.
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