Qantas repatriation flights to Australia from Israel confirmed

A Qantas flight from London will ferry Australians out of Israel as the Federal Government confirms it will also look at rescuing citizens trapped in Gaza. See how it will work.

A Qantas flight from London to Australia will ferry Australians from embattled Israel as the Federal Government confirms it will also look at rescuing citizens trapped in Gaza.

Three Qantas mercy flights had already been organised beginning Friday evening (Australian time) from Tel Aviv to London but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has now revealed a Qantas A380 will take passengers the next leg to Australia.

More than 1600 Australians, mostly dual nationals, have registered as wishing to flee Israel including from the Israeli occupied West Bank.

“Qantas are also putting in place the logistical exercise to then fly from London back to Australia via Singapore, it’s being put in place as we speak,” he said.

Mr Albanese also confirmed 19 Australians including a family of four from Adelaide that have registered as trying to flee Gaza, with consular officials in contact with authorities in Egypt to see how they can be rescued from the carnage.

The last remaining border post open between Gaza and Egypt was bombed yesterday by Israeli air force fighters effectively sealing Gaza off from the rest of the world.

“We are having discussions with the Egyptian government about the potential to get them out into Egypt through that southern border,” Mr Albanese said.

“It’s closed, of course, at the moment, formally, but we are having discussions to try to ensure that Australians can be gotten to safety. We want all Australians to be safe in the region and be able to leave, whether they’re in Israel or Gaza.”

Qantas is sending repatriation flights for those stranded in Israel. Picture: AFP

There had been suggestions, based on a Virgin Australia internal memo, that Qatar Airways was on standby to support stranded Aussies including flying into Tel Aviv.

It has now been confirmed these were incorrect since Qatar does not recognise Israel as a State and would need another level of approvals to enable any flights to go into the country; the Federal Government has yet to receive any formal offer from Qatar to assist. Virgin has also not offered to go into Tel Aviv but rather said it could have an aircraft on standby in nearby Jordan to fly out of its capital Amman to another safe country in the region.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King spoke to Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka about contingency plans to bring Australians out of the conflict in Israel.

“We’ll continue to engage with Canberra as to whether there is a wish to activate either option,” Virgin head of government relations Christian Bennett told staff in an internal memo.

He added both VA’s operations and Qatar Airways reacted to the government’s call out with “lightening speed” to come up with a plan.

There are 12,000 Australians and or dual nationals living in Israel as well as stranded tourists whose flights from other airlines have been cancelled since the crisis erupted.

It is understood hundreds of people have contacted Australian consular hotlines indicating they wanted to leave either to Australia or elsewhere.

AUSSIE MUM’S PLEA TO COME HOME

An Australian mother stuck in war-torn Israel with her family has pleaded to be flown back to Australia.

Nicole Brodie, who has lived in Israel for 13 years, said she and her three children would have to make their own way home after being flown to London on a repatriated flight on Friday.

She said she was struggling to confirm details of the flights, including whether she would need visas and how she would pay for papers required to enter the UK.

Nicole Brodie and her three children have been sheltering in their apartment. Picture: Facebook

Her nine-year-old daughter’s passport has expired and her five-year-old twins don’t hold Australian passports

“There are basically no answers. We are going to London, apparently. And then I guess we’re staying there and everyone has to make their own way home. That is how it feels,” Ms Brodie told Today.

“They said if you are going to go to Australia, that will be at your expense. No problem, I don't mind paying for that, but it is more expensive and to fly from London home, then from here to home, so it has given us a bit of a sense, a false sense of helping us.”

Ms Brodie said a lot of Australian citizens were choosing to stay in the country.

“There are lots of Australians here. We are all family and a lot of people are staying and supporting and helping. For me, I felt the right decision was to take my kids. My husband will be here and his family is in the army,” she said.

“It is traumatising and we are together as a country, a beautiful country, and we will get through it, but it is something that is just the most horrible thing. It is a nightmare beyond what anyone could ever imagine.”

Almost 800 people have died in Gaza, and 187,000 displaced after Israel launched retaliatory air strikes after a large-scale attack by Hamas. Picture: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

RESCUE FLIGHTS RETREAT AMID AIRPORT ATTACK

British Airways diverted rescue planes mid-flight and suspended all services to Israel as Hamas shelled airports and ‘hostile aircraft’ crossed the Lebanon border.

In a worrying sign for civilians stuck in Israel as the violence escalates, the UK carrier turned a flight headed to Israel back to London after a missile struck Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

While aviation authorities have not yet grounded flights to Israel, airlines have been cautioned about security risks amid continued attacks from multiple fronts.

Israel urged citizens in the north to shelter after “hostile aircraft” entered from Lebanon. While they didn’t specify what aircraft, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists are known the use drones and gliders in their attacks.

A sign informing passengers about the location of rocket shelters is set-up in a hallway as travellers arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. Picture: AFP

“Safety is always our highest priority and we’ve taken the decision to return our Tel Aviv flight to Heathrow (Airport),” a spokesperson for British Airways said.

A spokesperson for Israel’s airports said the diversion was the pilot’s decision and that no other flights were diverted.

FlightRadar showed the flight, BA165, had almost reached Tel Aviv before beginning its return to London.