The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a decision to evacuate Swedes who are in Israel and Palestinian areas.
This is stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in one press release.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is starting work to assist Swedes in Israel to leave the country through assisted exit via flight, probably from Tel Aviv. The work takes place in close collaboration with the other Nordic countries,” the statement reads.
The Foreign Ministry estimates that around 3,000 people with connections to Sweden are in Israel, according to TT. Around 800 people are in Palestinian territories, according to the ministry.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: “Followed the situation hour by hour”
“We have followed the situation in Israel and Palestine hour by hour, together with the other Nordic countries. The government has all along planned for various scenarios and had preparedness. Last night, a decision was made that assisted departure should be carried out, in cooperation with other countries,” says the foreign minister in a comment to the news agency.
It is still unclear when the departure will take place, but the flights will have Ben Gurion International Airport as the starting point.
“The decision has been made against the background that the security situation has not improved, the risk of an extended conflict and that the regular flight capacity is decreasing,” writes the Foreign Ministry.
Earlier in the morning, the governments of Denmark and Norway announced that they were evacuating as a result of the fighting in the area.