Greeks evacuated from Israel share their experience

An aircraft carrying 81 Greeks from Israel, amidst a brutal escalation of violence between Palestinian militants and the Israeli military, touched down at Athens International Airport Shortly after midnight.

According to the Greek Foreign Ministry, out of the 149 registered Greek visitors, 81 were repatriated on this specific flight, which was a direct journey from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. These individuals had been in Israel as part of two organized excursions.

One of these two groups had embarked on their journey from Thessaloniki to Israel on October 1.

Katerina Katrakylaki, one of the passengers on the flight, recounted her experience. “We had gone to Jericho [in the West Bank] on a pilgrimage. Fortunately, our agent was very competent and did everything possible. When we departed from Jericho, we learned that it had been struck,” she said

“Israel appeared deserted; we were anxious, especially during our journey from Bethlehem to Tel Aviv. We were stopped three times, but fortunately, we were lucky,” she added. 

The death toll from the violence following Hamas’ unexpected attack on Saturday has now exceeded 1,100.

“They escorted us step by step during the afternoon, and we made our way to the airport. We encountered roadblocks and checkpoints. The situation was challenging. On Saturday, we heard gunshots, which worried us. We crossed ourselves and departed,” said Antonis Zlatanos, a passenger on the same flight.

Another passenger, Konstantinos Gontas, who also returned to Athens last night, had been staying at a relative’s house in Tel Aviv. “On Saturday, rockets were falling since 6.30 a.m. We stayed in the bomb shelter from morning until late at night,” he said.