Portugal sends a plane from its air force to Israel to repatriate its citizens

The government of Portugal announced this Sunday that it has decided to send an Air Force plane to repatriate the Portuguese who wish to do so Israel.

In a statement the Portuguese Executive explained that it has taken into account the “increasingly scarce” commercial flight options to leave the area, “given the exponential demand from citizens everywhere.”

He noted that, once he receives authorization from the Israeli authorities, he will inform when the military plane will arrive and the procedures that the Portuguese who want to leave must follow to be able to do so.

The Portuguese Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense are in charge of coordinating this operation.

Currently, according to Lisbon, there are nearly 100 Portuguese nationals in Israel, including tourists and residents, who have contacted the Consular Emergency Office to report their presence in the territory or to request help to leave the country. At the moment, there are no Portuguese victims in the attacks.

Many airlines have canceled their flights due to the escalation of violence in the region.

On Saturday, the Portuguese airline TAP noted on its Facebook page that it had decided to cancel flights scheduled for this Sunday and Monday to and from Tel Aviv, due to the situation in Israel.

The company offered passengers tickets for those days to delay their trip to another date without additional cost or a refund.

Israel declared itself in a state of war on Saturday, after Hamas launched a multiple attack, by land, sea and air, that caught the country by surprise, with the launch of thousands of rockets and ground incursions into Israeli soil, where they have massacred and kidnapped dozens of citizens.

In two days, the dead in Israel exceed 700 and more than 2,200 injured, although the numbers may rise as Israeli troops regain control of areas taken by Hamas.