At the end of intensive efforts over the past three days, the group of Israelis stuck in the town of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia were rescued yesterday and today, amid the security escalation in the area
The news in brief
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the group of Israelis who were stuck in the town of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia were rescued yesterday and today in Operation Musk.
- According to the announcement, the rescue followed 3 days of intensive efforts by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa.
- The group, which numbered about 20 Israelis, most of whom are 65 years old or older, was captured in the town following an escalation in the fighting between Ethiopian government forces and local rebels.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today (Wednesday) that at the end of intensive efforts that lasted for three days, the group of Israelis who were stuck in the town of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia were rescued yesterday and today in the Musk operation – this against the background of the security escalation that befell the area. Helicopters transferred the members of the group to a safe area, from where they will continue to the capital Addis Ababa.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the rescue was made possible due to the strenuous activity of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa, which worked in continuous coordination with the relevant authorities in Ethiopia. They asked the Foreign Ministry to thank the Ethiopian authorities for their commitment to the rescue efforts, as well as all the other factors that helped carry out the operation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa will continue to accompany the Israelis and assist them until they arrive safely in the capital.
Three days of waiting under fire and artillery
The group that was rescued numbered about 20 Israelis, most of them 65 years old and older, stayed in Lalibela for about five days following the escalation of fighting between the forces of the federal government in Ethiopia and local rebels. The escalation led to the blocking of exits from the town and the cancellation of flights in the area. The group arrived in Ethiopia in mid-September for an organized trip in the south and north of the country, and after finishing the southern part of the trip, arrived on the 22nd of the month in Lalibela – where they were caught up in the battle zone.
Yuval Partok, one of the members of the group, described in a conversation with N12 the difficult days they went through: “We are in a hotel in the middle of the city and all the exits are blocked. You cannot leave by car. Every few hours you hear gunfire, and even artillery occasionally.” According to him, the travelers were afraid of random damage and the uncertainty: “The first fear is that a stray bullet will fly here and enter the room. The second fear is the uncertainty – we just don’t know what to do. Everyone has a family, a job and obligations at home. We went on a trip to Ethiopia, no one thought they would find themselves stuck in such a situation.”
The travelers also reported worsening conditions in the area – prolonged power outages during the day, fear of the prolongation of the stay and dwindling supply of food, fuel and cash, as well as fear of a complete disconnection of communications in the area. According to some members of the group, the uncertainty regarding the time of departure intensified due to the fact that the option of leaving through the nearby airport was not available at a certain point.
“We entered a battle zone without knowing it”
Before the rescue, the members of the group raised claims regarding the warnings given before their arrival in northern Ethiopia. According to Partok, it was only after they got stuck in Lalibela that they learned that the US had already issued a warning on September 17 regarding the security situation in the region – five days before the group arrived in the north of the country. “We entered a battle zone without even knowing it,” he claimed. “Just yesterday we spoke with an Israeli businessman in Addis Ababa, and he asked us how we even got to northern Ethiopia.”
According to Partok, before the official rescue, the group also contacted private rescue companies in Israel in an attempt to find a way out of the town, but they were told that a rescue could not be carried out without the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We feel stuck and helpless,” he said at the time. “We want someone to think outside the box and find a safe way to get us out of here.”