An anonymous man reportedly purchased plane tickets for calls to the Israel Defense Forces returning to besieged Israel at JFK airport on Monday.
The Jewish man stood near the ticket counter of El Al, Israel’s national airline, and quietly bought tickets for those who showed him their IDF call-up notice, Avi Meyer, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, shared on Xformerly known as Twitter.
In total, the man bought 250 tickets to Israel, according to an El Al staff member, Meyer said.
El Al spokeswoman Ofri Rimoni said there has been an outpouring of support for the reservists, and after learning what happened, she reached out to her employees at JFK to ask what had happened.
Apparently, an ultra-Orthodox man had entered and paid for the reservists. Military equipment to be shipped by cargo, Rimoni told The Post.
American Jews have offered to help IDF reservists fly to Israel from New York City.Getty Images
Later, another man with credit cards, who appeared to be with some American organization, purchased several plane tickets for reservists who needed to be in Israel, although it is unclear how many tickets he bought.
The airline denied that the ultra-Orthodox man had paid $500,000, as it was claimed by some users on social networks.
Rimoni emphasized that the airline is not legally allowed to accept donations on behalf of reservists, but said that “there are a lot of people who come to our counters at JFK airport and ask to buy tickets for soldiers.”
Follow the Post’s coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas
El Al cannot accept money as an intermediary between reservists and banknotes, he stated.
It’s been “beautiful” to see Americans show up at the airport to help buy tickets, he added.
While most major airlines have been canceling flights to Israel since deadly fighting with Hamas broke out this weekend, El Al and other Israel-based airlines have added flights to bring reservists to Israel.
El Al and other Israeli airlines have increased the number of flights to and from Israel as other airlines cancel amid the violence.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Israeli defense officials announced on Monday that they had called up a record 300,000 reservists after deadly attacks by the Palestinian terrorist group prompted a rapid response from the Israeli military in Gaza and the West Bank.
El Al told Reuters on Tuesday that while it does not offer free flights for reservists, it was working to keep prices affordable for those returning home to defend the country.
The worst attack on Israel in 50 years: how we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after seizing the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins the Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fire rockets at the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches largest attack on Israel in 50 years.
More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, more than 3,000 wounded and at least 100 taken hostage, with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli cities. .
Hamas terrorists were seen taking women hostage and parading them down the street in gruesome videos.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and promised that Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
Gaza health officials report that at least 1,050 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,000 injured.
Reservists flying from the United States are charged $900; flights from Bangkok cost $650; and flights of less than four hours from Europe cost $300, a spokesman told Reuters.
Other Israeli airlines, such as Israir Airlines and Arkia, offered additional flights to Israel from cities around the world.
Flights evacuating foreigners also left Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, the busiest in the country.
With postal cables
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn