German special flight to bring home 170 looking to leave Israel

A special flight carrying German nationals and their relatives stuck in Israel amid the fighting with Iran is expected to land in Frankfurt on Wednesday evening, according to the German Foreign Office.

The aircraft took off from the Jordanian capital and is carrying 171 people looking to leave the region, the ministry said on X.

Germans looking to leave Israel in the wake of the Israeli attacks on Iran, which have prompted retaliatory strikes on Israeli territory, need to travel to Jordan on their own to catch a government-organized flight back home, it said.

Another such flight is scheduled to depart from Amman on Thursday.

Other European countries including Poland have organized convoys to enable their citizens to leave Israel for neighbouring Jordan.

According to the German government, organized transport from Israel to Jordan could bear additional risks.

Instead Berlin has asked its citizens to follow security instructions by the Israeli authorities who have advised against attending large gatherings and travelling across the country, according to the ministry.

A German Foreign Office spokesman previously stressed that Berlin was not conducting evacuations but "commercial special flights," as commercial airlines have suspended flights to and from Israel amid the conflict.

The flights are set to continue "if the situation continues to allow it and if there's need," he said.

German citizens currently in Iran have been advised to leave the country via Armenia, Turkey or Azerbaijan, with commercial flights to Germany available in all three neighbouring countries.

The German Foreign Office has urged its citizens to return home from Iran, saying "our embassy in Tehran will provide assistance in leaving the country if possible, for example through direct contact with the Iranian authorities."