The Israel Defense Forces facilitated the entry to an Israeli port early on Friday morning of a passenger ship with 1,500 Israelis on board, as part of the Ministry of Transport’s “Operation Safe Return.”
The ship, which embarked from the Port of Limassol in Cyprus, docked at Ashdod Port at 4:30 a.m., the military said.
The ship was accompanied by an Israeli Navy missile boat; personnel from the IDF Home Front Command’s Alon Headquarters welcomed the returnees.
The passengers returned home via shuttle buses organized by the Transport Ministry in a “quick and efficient” operation, the IDF said.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces has begun operating the Ministry of Transport’s call center for Israelis stranded abroad seeking to return home amid the war with Iran, the military said on Thursday.
The call center is at the IDF Home Front Command’s control center, known as the Alon Headquarters, in Ramla.
It “will be staffed by experienced service representatives who regularly operate the IDF’s Meitav, Mofet and Human Resources Directorate call centers,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
The Alon Headquarters will place an emphasis on “managing exceptional cases requiring special prioritization” for returning to Israel amid the cancelation of regular flights, the statement read.
Initially, the call center is set to provide service in Hebrew only and will operate Sunday through Thursday 24 hours per day, as well on Friday until 1 p.m. and in emergency mode on Saturday.
The call center can be reached at 077-770-3003.
Israeli airlines began flying home citizens on Wednesday.
The four Israeli carriers, led by El Al, are working to bring home thousands of Israelis each day on the repatriation flights from select international cities such as nearby Larnaca and Athens, chosen by the airlines.
The limited one-way flights, which were completely sold out, were pre-assigned to ticketed passengers whose return flights had been previously canceled.
In addition to Israel’s flag carrier, three smaller Israeli airlines were flying home passengers on Wednesday—Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa.
The returning Israelis were fast-tracked through customs and baggage claims before being brought to long-term parking lots or put on trains or free shuttle buses to cities across the country, the Israel Airports Authority said. The public was urged not to come to the airport due to the security situation.
