Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement on a framework to bring home thousands of Israelis stranded in the Gulf country after its airports were temporarily closed last week due to unprecedented Iranian missile and drone attacks in the region, Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev announced this weekend.
The accord reached between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed aims to operate repatriation flights for the estimated 14,000 Israeli passengers stranded in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The UAE airports, which partially reopened last week, have been repeatedly hit by Iranian drone attacks, hampering flights out of the country.
Some of the planned flights are being routed via Aqaba, Jordan, and Taba, Egypt, while others will go through Athens, Greece, subject to security conditions.
The UAE was the first country to make peace with Israel as part of the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords.
Emirati carriers led by Fly Dubai and Etihad notably continued to fly to Israel throughout the two-year war with Hamas.
