Hundreds of residents from the Gaza Strip have been flown out of Israel to Germany, according to a report by an Israeli media outlet. Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel reportedly traveled to the Ramon Airfield in the Negev Desert to oversee and verify the “voluntary departure” of the Gaza Strip residents. German diplomats accompanied the passengers, according to the report.
Arbel stated that in recent times, there have been ten such flights to other countries. He thanked US President Donald Trump and claimed that the voluntary departure “enables the rehabilitation of the area.” Trump had proposed in early February to relocate all or a significant portion of the Gaza Strip residents to other countries, either temporarily or permanently.
The Israeli Defense Ministry established a new agency in late March to prepare and facilitate the “voluntary departure” of Gaza Strip residents to third countries. The agency is tasked with ensuring a “safe and controlled departure of Gaza Strip residents to third countries.”
A recent report by the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth claimed that the number of departures from the Gaza Strip has significantly increased in recent weeks, with almost 2,000 people leaving through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, either to the Ramon Airport or further to Jordan.
The German Foreign Ministry has since confirmed the information. On its social media platform, X, it was reported that 19 German nationals, along with their close family members, were brought back to Germany by the end of the day.