From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Israel rescues more than 200 citizens and local Jews from Ethiopia conflict areas
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Israel extracts some 200 citizens and local Jews from conflict zones in Ethiopia, the Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office announce.
Amid fighting in northern Ethiopia’s Amhara region, Israel rescues 174 Israelis and Ethiopians eligible to make aliyah from the city of Gondar in Amhara, home to thousands of Ethiopians waiting for permission to move to Israel.
Another 30 Israelis were rescued from Amhara’s capital city of Bahir Dar.
Four flights brought the evacuees to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.
Earlier this week, after a meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and other officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi to prepare the rescue operation.
During the operation, the Foreign Ministry’s situation room was expanded to include representatives from the Jewish Agency and Ethiopian IDF soldiers who speak Amharic.
After contacting the Israelis and local Jews yesterday, the Foreign Ministry told them last night to head to sites where they could be picked up by buses to be spirited to the airports for their flights to Addis Ababa.
They can decide to stay in the capital or travel to Israel, says Cohen.
Netanyahu said they would be received at the airport, and thanked the relevant agencies for their speedy and quiet operation.
