Over 50% of Israelis stranded abroad have returned — 24,000 on repatriation flights

The Israel Airports Authority announced that over 50 percent of the approximately 100,000 Israelis who were stranded abroad following the February 28 airspace closure have returned home. Repatriation routes: 24,000 Israelis returned on 133 repatriation flights operated by Israeli airlines (as of the previous day). 44 additional repatriation flights carrying an estimated 8,000 passengers were expected to land on Day 10. Via land: between February 28 and March 8, 22,800 Israelis who were abroad returned via land border crossings with Egypt and Jordan. During the same period, 29,247 people left Israel via land crossings — suggesting continued outbound movement of non-Israelis and some Israelis. Ben Gurion Airport was partially reopened on Day 10 for outbound flights (first since Feb 28) in addition to the inbound repatriation operation. The partial repatriation success provides some domestic normalcy signal — though roughly 50,000 Israelis remain stranded abroad.