Français
Español
English
Portuguese
Over the last ten days, some 25,000 stranded Israelis returned to the country via land border crossings with Egypt and Jordan, while 31,000 people left Israel via the crossings, according to the Israeli Ministry of Interior.
By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS
It was a honeymoon the young Israeli couple would never forget.
Tohar and Amit Cohen, 28, were on their way home from their honeymoon in Australia when their connecting flight to Tel Aviv via Abu Dhabi made a U-turn midair just as it was approaching Tel Aviv when war with Iran broke out last month.
For the next ten days, the Tel Aviv newlyweds were among the thousands of Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates as the Gulf Country, which came under unprecedented Iranian missile and drone attack, temporarily closed its airspace last week.
On Monday night, the couple, along with hundreds of other Israelis who had been stranded in the UAE, finally made it home via special flights organized by two small Israeli carriers that flew into the tiny Egyptian airport in the Sinai Desert.
“I was a bit afraid because I had never been to Sinai,” Tohar Cohen told JNS upon landing. “But I was more scared to get stuck for another two weeks and just wanted to get home.”
The one-room airport terminal, which was also used for tourists exiting Israel after the outbreak of the conflict on Feb. 28, was teeming Tuesday evening with Israeli tourists on a flight back from Dubai with a colorful mix of young and old, backpackers who were stopped in their tracks on the way back from the Far East, families, and a group of Russian-speaking Israelis.
Adi Cohen-Dictor, 49, of Tel Aviv had tried to rush back to Israel from a vacation in Thailand with her two young daughters just before the war, leaving her husband and son in Bangkok after her son had stomach flu and was unable to travel, only to be turned around midair as well and stuck in Abu Dhabi for over a week with their stay covered by the Emirati airline and the government.
After failing to secure a spot for her kids on several publicized, government-sponsored repatriation flights from the UAE—which prioritized families and the elderly—she paid $850 for a one-way ticket for an Arkia or Israir European-leased flight via Egypt.
She selected this option to return home as quickly as possible.
“I wouldn’t have chosen this route, but this was the situation in order to get home,” she said, expressing her relief at finally being on her way home.
Ayal Elbaz (center) with his two coworkers in an Egyptian taxi on the way to the Israeli border after flying through five countries to get home, March 9, 2026. Credit: Courtesy.
Ayal Elbaz, 37, of the central Israeli community of Ginaton, was on a business trip in Singapore when his return flight got cancelled and ended up stuck in a detention cell at the Bangkok airport with his two coworkers alongside Pakistanis and Indians when they didn’t have an onward flight or hotel booking.
They were then put out on a flight back to Singapore and allowed to reenter with the help of the Israeli Consul, where they flew to Dubai and then onwards to Taba to get to Israel.
“This has been one long journey flying through five countries to get home,” Elbaz said.
Over the last ten days, some 25,000 stranded Israelis returned to the country via land border crossings with Egypt and Jordan, while 31,000 people left Israel via the crossings, according to the Israeli Ministry of Interior.
After filling out a short immigration form, which was a flashback to a forgotten pre-digital age, and getting their passports stamped by Egyptian immigration officers, the tourists proceeded to pick up their bags at the one luggage carousel and then stepped out to the desert to haggle with Egyptian taxi drivers in a mix of Hebrew and Arabic over the war-heightened price of the half-hour ride to the Israeli border.
After a circuitous journey, the passengers were wearied but ecstatic to be on their way home in the middle of the war.
“We wanted to get home as fast as possible,” offered Rachel Handel, 70, of the Jerusalem bedroom community of Har Adar, who was visiting Dubai with her daughter and grandson when the war broke out. “The main thing is we are safely home.”
As the Israeli flag came into view at the entrance to the land crossing into the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, the passengers gave out cries of joy and thanksgiving.
“It’s our exodus from Egypt,” they exclaimed.
Do You Love Israel? Make a Donation - Show Your Support!
Donate to vital charities that help protect Israeli citizens and inspire millions around the world to support Israel too!
Now more than ever, Israel needs your help to fight and win the war -- including on the battlefield of public opinion.
Antisemitism, anti-Israel bias and boycotts are out of control. Israel's enemies are inciting terror and violence against innocent Israelis and Jews around the world. Help us fight back!
