Status: 11.10.2023, 10:43 a.m.
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Lufthansa's special flights are to be used to fly Germans out of Israel. © Boris Roessler/dpa
After the attacks by Hamas, many Germans in Israel are waiting to be able to return home. The German government has organised flights. A group of students from Ettlingen has already returned.
Berlin - Lufthansa will operate several special flights on Thursday and Friday to bring back Germans from Israel. This was announced on Tuesday evening from the Foreign Office. It is said to be four flights per day. The German Foreign Ministry's Crisis Response Centre had previously been negotiating with airlines under high pressure to expand flight capacities.
In a large-scale terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas, more than 1200,3000 people have been killed in Israel since Saturday. In addition, at least 150,<> people were injured in Israel. Hamas members also abducted about <> people to the Gaza Strip. Since then, numerous German citizens have been waiting to be able to leave the country.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Final details are being clarified
The Foreign Office said in the evening that the final technical details would be clarified at the moment. The Foreign Ministry in Berlin wants to inform the German nationals registered in the crisis preparedness list "Elefand" this Wednesday about how the tickets for the special flights can be booked with Lufthansa. German nationals who are not yet registered and who want to leave the country should immediately enter their names on the list, it said.
With the registration in the "Elefand" system, Germans abroad can be quickly informed by German representations in acute crises and involved in possible crisis measures.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had previously asked Germans waiting to leave Israel for understanding on ZDF. "We have initiated evacuation flights with other airlines. Through the crisis hotline - those who are at the airport were able to contact us - we arranged flight connections. You then had to change trains on some routes. I understand that this is a terrible situation, but when you have 100,000 calls at the same time, then you have to prioritize."
Ettlingen school group already back in Germany
Meanwhile, a group of students from Ettlingen in the Karlsruhe district returned safely to Germany from Israel. This was announced by the Karlsruhe District Office on Wednesday night. The teenagers landed late on Tuesday evening and were able to be embraced by their families again after days of worry, it was said. The relief is great, said District Administrator Christoph Schnaudigel. "Without hesitation, we organized the return trip on our own directly after the events in Israel." In doing so, they were able to rely on the expertise of their Israeli friends on the ground at all times.
According to the information, the eleven-member group of vocational students, together with three accompanying persons, first flew to Antalya in Turkey. From there, they traveled in parallel in two small groups to Stuttgart.
The students, aged between 16 and 19, had been on a student exchange in Israel's Sha'ar HaNegev region since Thursday. The district of Karlsruhe has had a partnership with the region for almost 30 years. After the surprise attacks by the terrorist organization Hamas, the youths and their companions were initially taken to safety elsewhere in Israel. Since then, a crisis team from the district office had been working to get the group home. Dpa