Some of the 1,000 people staying locally returned to Incheon Airport.
“Long line of military vehicles…witnesses of fighter planes flying”
“Hotel warns to shelter in place… Crowds gather in the basement”
A family anxious all night long, “I’m worried that I’ll be kidnapped when I come”
Among the Korean citizens who were stranded in the area due to the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, 192 returned home safely through Incheon International Airport around 6:10 a.m. on the 11th.
This is the first time that citizens staying in the area have returned home after an armed conflict.
Those who flew from Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, on a Korean Air flight heaved a sigh of relief only when they entered the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 early in the morning. At the moment of reuniting with the family who had been waiting anxiously to meet us from early on, exclamations and cheers were heard everywhere.
Most of these people are short-term residents who came to Israel for pilgrimage or travel, and it is said that they had to worry as flights to Korea were canceled several times after the Hamas attack.
Mr. Kim, who lives in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do, said to her husband before boarding the plane to return home, ‘There are fighter planes and tanks passing by. Basically, Israel is a place where there is always conflict, so the military is stationed there, but this time (conflict tensions) seem to be very serious,’ he said, conveying the local situation.
Husband Go Hyeon-cheon (34) said, “I was worried that I would be kidnapped while the plane was in flight. He confided, “This is because Palestine attacks without paying attention to legal issues.”
Kim Si-young (55), who returned to Korea with his wife from the Galilee in northern Israel, said he was anxious because the Middle East war was mentioned in domestic news. He said, “Fortunately, the bombing started after I was in Jerusalem and left for Galilee. The line of vehicles moving the military was very long on the Galilee side, and fighter jets could sometimes be seen flying.”
Jang Jeong-yoon (61), who lives in Jeju, hugged his daughter for a long time while she was waiting at the arrival hall. Mr. Jang said of the local atmosphere, “I was in Jerusalem, and the Jews were very afraid and did not come out of their homes, so it was quiet and quiet.”
He said, “The air raid warning went off. I thought it was just a training exercise, but I didn’t know it was such a big deal.”
After Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on the 7th, Israel launched a large-scale counterattack, and the death toll on both sides exceeded 1,800. While Hamas has threatened to execute hostages if airstrikes on the Gaza Strip are not stopped, Israel has even announced the deployment of large-scale ground troops, making the situation worse.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of Korean citizens staying in Israel was about 570 long-term residents and about 480 short-term tourists. In addition to the 192 people who returned home that day, 27 Korean citizens moved to Jordan by land, and 30 people are scheduled to leave the country on Turkish Airlines the next day, the 12th. Our government plans to continue providing guidance on departure for the 230 people still remaining in the country.
[영종도=뉴시스]
Source: Donga