Slovakia conducted the evacuation of citizens from various countries who found themselves in Jordan and Israel due to the escalating situation in the Middle East. In total, 73 people returned to Slovakia. This information was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior.
Among the evacuees, 30 were Slovak citizens, including 25 tourists stranded in Jordan and 5 embassy staff members.
Onboard the plane were also 14 Czech citizens, 10 Austrians, 1 Slovenian, and 15 representatives of the Polish embassy in Israel. Additionally, among the evacuees were three members of the European Union delegation from Israel, representing Slovenia, Spain, and Estonia.
Additional flights are planned in the coming days: on Tuesday from Larnaca, Cyprus, and on Wednesday from Amman, the capital of Jordan, for citizens of Spain, Italy, Romania, and the Netherlands.
Evacuation operations were carried out by special units of the Slovak government together with the EURACARE Flight & Shelter air evacuation team, which is a certified module within the European Union specializing in humanitarian and repatriation flights.
Earlier, it became known that Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal, and Cyprus also announced the evacuation of their citizens from Israel, as the country’s territory was shelled by Iran following attacks on its nuclear and military facilities.
Israel’s Attack on Iran
On the night of June 13, the Israeli army launched an air operation against Iran’s nuclear program. The Israeli Air Force struck numerous targets within Iran, including facilities related to uranium enrichment and other military installations.
“The aim of the operation is to strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, its ballistic missile production plants, and military capabilities.” He emphasized that the operation will continue as long as necessary until the mission is fully accomplished.
– Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
In response to the Israeli attack, several countries closed their airspace. Iran, in turn, launched over 100 drones toward Israel in retaliation for the strikes on its targets.
Later, on June 13 and 14, Israel carried out new airstrikes on Iranian cities housing key defense facilities and military bases.
At an emergency UN Security Council meeting on June 13, Iran officially accused the United States of involvement in the Israeli attacks on its territory. Washington denied these accusations and called on Tehran to negotiate regarding the nuclear program.