Immigration minister makes his way home to Israel from Azerbaijan via two flights and a boat

Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Aliyah and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer and director general of the ministry Avichai Kahana greet immigrants from France in 2024. (Sivan Shahar/GPO)
Aliyah and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer and director general of the ministry Avichai Kahana greet immigrants from France in 2024. (Sivan Shahar/GPO)

Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer was forced to return to Israel via a roundabout route via Greece and Cyprus following Friday morning’s Israeli attack on Iran, returning only on Sunday evening.

According to Channel 12, Sofer was in Azerbaijan, north of Iran, for a conference on Thursday. There were no direct flights, so he had to fly to Athens and then to the Cypriot city of Limassol before boarding a boat to Israel.

Following the opening of hostilities with Iran, Israel closed its airspace, and over 100,000 citizens are currently stuck abroad.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev on Monday said that Israel is working on an operation to safely return them home, but it will take time.

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