South Korean tourists wait in line to check in for their return flight at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Oct. 10, 2023, amid an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean passenger jet carrying dozens of citizens is set to return home from Israel, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, after violence erupted between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The Korean Air Co. flight carrying 214 passengers, including 192 Korean nationals, departed from Tel Aviv at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday (local time) and is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 6:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
It will be the first flight to transport South Koreans back home since tensions quickly escalated in the region after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.
The ministry said 27 South Korean tourists will cross into Jordan by land while another 30 are expected to depart Israel on Thursday via a Turkish Airlines flight.
No casualties have been reported among South Korean nationals so far, Foreign Minister Park Jin said during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly.
“No damage was reported to our diplomatic mission,” Park said. “We are taking measures so that tourists on short-term visits can return home on direct flights (from Tel Aviv to Incheon).”
South Korean nationals living in the Gaza Strip in Palestine have also taken refuge in a safe location, Park said, adding that no citizens were reported to have been held hostage by Hamas.
“Our diplomatic mission in the region is maintaining round-the-clock emergency contact with the citizens and checking their safety,” Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the ministry, told a regular press briefing.
He added that the South Korean Embassy is providing assistance to the approximately 230 people remaining in Israel to help them safely leave the country.
A total of 570 South Koreans are estimated to be living or staying in Israel, in addition to some 480 traveling in the country, according to the ministry.
The ministry had initially reported 360 Korean tourists in the country but confirmed that around 120 more had entered Israel via foreign carriers.
South Korea on Sunday issued a special travel advisory on Israel and urged its nationals to leave the country.
(Yonhap)
