Officials say over 50% of Israelis stranded abroad by Iran war have returned

Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel

Illustrative: An El Al aircraft is seen at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on February 25, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Illustrative: An El Al aircraft is seen at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on February 25, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Israel Airports Authority says over 50 percent of Israelis who were stranded abroad upon the outbreak of the Iran war have returned, mainly via air routes and land border crossings with Egypt and Jordan.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was gradually reopened Wednesday night for inbound flights, to help repatriate around 100,000 Israelis stuck abroad after the country’s airspace was shut on February 28 following the joint US-Israel attack on Iran. Since the partial reopening of Ben Gurion, about 24,000 Israelis have returned home on 133 repatriation flights operated by Israeli airlines (as of yesterday), the Israel Airports Authority says.

Another 44 repatriation flights carrying an estimated 8,000 passengers were expected to land today.

In addition, between February 28 and March 8, 22,800 Israelis who were abroad returned to the country via land border crossings with Egypt and Jordan. During the same period, 29,247 people left Israel via land border crossings.

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