• Saturday, July 27, 2024
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Israelis leave Turkey after Gaza hospital bombing sparks protests

13 hostages killed by Israeli airstrikes — Hamas

El Al, Israel’s main airline, arranged two flights to bring Israelis back from Turkey after Israel issued a travel warning for its citizens visiting Türkiye, local media reported.

Two Israeli flights left Istanbul and bounded for Tel Aviv on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the report said, showing pictures of Israelis departing from Istanbul’s airport.

Israel’s National Security Council raised on Wednesday the travel warning for Turkey to the highest level of four, citing “terrorist threats against Israelis. It urged all Israelis in Türkiye to “leave as soon as possible”.

Read also: WHO, UN condemn Israeli air raid on Gaza’s Al Ahli hospital

El Al said it would operate special free flights for Israelis in Turkey, adding that it will allow Israelis who traveled independently from Turkey to Greece to fly from Athens to Israel for free.

Tens of thousands have joined protests across Turkey since a Tuesday attack on a hospital in Gaza caused heavy casualties.
About 471 people were killed when a rocket hit the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Tuesday evening, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

Read also: Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah killed in Israel-Hamas conflict

It said Israel carried out the airstrikes, while the Israeli military blamed the Islamic Jihad group for the “failed shooting” that targeted Israel.

The attack on the hospital has prompted widespread protests in Middle Eastern countries.