For the first time since the beginning of the war, the Luftwaffe flew Germans directly out of Israel—the airspace is actually closed. A total of 64 people were on board the two planes, including families with children.

One week after the start of the war between Israel and Iran, the Air Force flew Germans directly out of Israel. Two Airbus A400M aircraft with a total of 64 people on board are en route to Germany, the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Foreign Office announced. Der Spiegel had previously reported on this.

Because of the war, the airspace in both countries is actually closed to air traffic.

"Diplomatic pickup"

Due to the current situation in the Middle East, the group of German citizens was flown out of Israel as part of a"diplomatic repatriation," the German government explained."The flights were carried out at short notice in close coordination with the Israeli authorities and were aimed primarily at families with children and other vulnerable individuals."

According to the Spiegel report, the two aircraft took off from Wunstorf near Hanover in the morning and landed in Tel Aviv in the late afternoon with a special permit. Shortly thereafter, the military aircraft took off again. The Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defense did not provide any further details in their statements.

Another special flight from Jordan planned

Over the past two days, Germans and close family members had already been flown out on special flights – not directly from Israel, however, but from Jordan. A plane arrived in Berlin yesterday. There was a flight to Frankfurt on Wednesday.

A total of 345 people were on these two flights. These were charter flights; the Air Force was not involved. The Foreign Office had facilitated the departure via Jordan. Another special flight from Jordan is scheduled for Saturday.