TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A special flight evacuated 14 people, including nine Taiwanese nationals, from Israel to Rome on Friday (Oct. 20), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
As on Friday, a total of 137 Taiwanese nationals have chosen to remain in Israel. Many of them are married to Israeli citizens or have acquired local citizenship, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.
The chartered Israir flight took off from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport at 12:40 p.m. Friday, or 5:40 p.m. Taiwan time, with its arrival at Rome-Fiumicino Airport scheduled for 8:25 p.m. Taiwan time.
In addition to the nine Taiwanese on board, there were four people from Guatemala and one from Paraguay, two of Taiwan’s Latin American diplomatic allies, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told reporters. The Taiwanese passengers included a family of five, three backpackers, and one student.
As for the 137 citizens who chose to stay in Israel, Wu said Taiwan’s office in Israel would remain in close contact and assist them if they ask to leave. The remaining Taiwanese include 12 students and 76 Taiwanese living in Israel, as well as 49 people who have acquired Israeli passports, mainly through marriage.
During the search for a plane, 35 Chinese citizens contacted Taiwan’s office in Israel to see if it was possible to travel on the flight, but they failed to make further contact when it was time to submit their passport details, Wu said.
The aircraft used for Friday’s flight was an Airbus A320 with seats for 179 passengers. The minister explained that the plane was chartered when it was still unclear how many of the 146 Taiwanese in Isreal would request to leave.
