Countries have begun evacuating their citizens as the Israel-Iran conflict intensifies, prompting both countries to close off their airspace since the clash broke out on Friday.
Israel and Iran have both closed their airspace since the conflict broke out when Israel began striking military and nuclear targets in Iran on Friday.
Flights carrying evacuees from Israel have arrived in Slovakia and the Czech Republic amid the war between Iran and Israel, authorities said on Tuesday, making these countries among the first to get their citizens out of the Middle East.
Slovak authorities said that the first evacuation flight with 73 people, including 25 Slovak tourists and five family members of Slovak diplomats working in Tel Aviv, had arrived in the capital Bratislava late on Monday.
Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said Slovakia had also helped bring citizens of other countries to Europe, including 15 Poles, 14 Czechs, nine Austrians, two Slovenians and one citizen each of Estonia, Spain and Malaysia.
“Our partners are contacting us and we are preparing another flight on Tuesday, which should include citizens of the Slovak Republic, as well as citizens of the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, and France,” Blanar said.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Slovakia had helped evacuate seven Hungarians.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said that a flight with 66 people evacuated from Israel had landed near Prague.
Poland said on Monday that it was organizing the evacuation of around 200 of its citizens from Israel via Jordan.
A government official in Baku said that more than 600 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighboring Azerbaijan since Israel began striking the country.
“Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,” the government source told AFP on Tuesday.
“Evacuees are transported from the border to Baku International Airport and flown to their home countries on international flights.”
The Japanese government said on Tuesday that it is looking into “various options” to evacuate Japanese nationals from areas affected by ongoing military conflicts between Israel and Iran.
Thailand also said that it has ordered its military to prepare planes to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran, according to a spokesman.
There are an estimated 40,000 Thais currently living in Israel, most working on farms under a government labour scheme, and around 300 nationals living in Iran.
“We are ready to evacuate people and have coordinated with the military to prepare planes to bring them home from Israel and Iran,” government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Jirayu said Thai embassies in both countries have prepared evacuation plans for nationals.
The Thai embassy in Tehran announced on its official Facebook page that it had set up a temporary shelter for citizens outside the capital.
China’s embassy in Israel on Tuesday also urged its citizens to leave the country “as soon as possible” after Israel and Iran traded heavy strikes.
“The Chinese mission in Israel reminds Chinese nationals to leave the country as soon as possible via land border crossings, on the precondition that they can guarantee their personal safety,” the embassy said in a statement on WeChat.
“It is recommended to depart in the direction of Jordan,” it added.
The embassy warned the conflict was “continuing to escalate.”
“Much civilian infrastructure has been damaged, civilian casualties are on the rise, and the security situation is becoming more serious,” it said.
Agencies
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