MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

First Brazilian Air Force rescue aircraft due in Tel Aviv Tuesday

“We are coordinating the lists with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Damasceno explained

A Brazilian Air Force (FAB) Airbus 330-200 transport aircraft which can accommodate up to 230 passengers was already in Rome Monday, from where it planned to fly to Tel Aviv to bring the first batch of nationals of the South American country to safety from war-torn Israel, Agencia Brasil reported.

The first of the six planes the Brazilian government mobilized arrived in the Italian capital after a 9-hour flight from Natal and is scheduled to head for Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

A second KC-30 (military code for A330s) and two Brazilian-built Embraer KC-390s, with a capacity for 80 passengers each, as well as two aircraft from the Presidency, each seating up to 40 passengers, ar3e also to be deployed, it was explained in Brasilia.

Itamaraty estimates that at least 30 Brazilians live in the Gaza Strip and another 60 in Ashkelon and other locations in the conflict zone. In Israel, the Brazilian embassy had already gathered information on around 1,000 Brazilians staying in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem interested in returning to Brazil. Most of them are tourists.

In recent years, the Armed Forces have carried out four repatriation operations, by air and land, in Turkey, Ukraine, China, and Bolivia, with five aircraft and 30 vehicles, which have resulted in the rescue of approximately 6,600 people, including Brazilians and foreigners, Agencia Brasil also pointed out.

Brazil expects to extract some 900 of its nationals Brazilians from Israel and Palestine between Tuesday and Saturday, FAB Chief Marcelo Damasceno said. “We are coordinating the lists with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he explained.

According to Itamaraty (Foreign Ministry headquarters), the priority is to repatriate those who live in Brazil or don't have a return flight. So far, 1,700 Brazilians have expressed an interest in returning to Brazil. Three Brazilians are still missing.

“In view of the uncertainty as to when repatriation flights will be able to take place, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its recommendation that all nationals who have airline tickets, or who are in a position to purchase them, board commercial flights from Ben-Gurion airport, which continues to operate,” the diplomatic office said in a statement.

Regarding Brazilians in the Gaza Strip, the government is preparing an evacuation plan in coordination with the Brazilian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

“The Representative Office in Ramallah is still in contact with the Brazilians in the Gaza Strip and, in view of the deteriorating security conditions in the area, is implementing a plan to evacuate these nationals from the region, in coordination with the Brazilian Embassy in Cairo,” a statement from the ministry read.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)