German military planes with evacuees from Israel arrive in Cologne

Two German air force planes carrying 64 German citizens arrived on Friday in Germany from Israel.

The Airbus A400M military aircraft touched down at Cologne/Bonn Airport.

It is the first time the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, has flown citizens directly out of Israel since hostilities with Iran escalated about a week ago.

Due to the ongoing conflict, the airspace over both countries remains closed to civilian traffic.

The group of German citizens was flown out of Israel as part of a “diplomatic evacuation,” the German government said.

“The flights were carried out at short notice in close coordination with the Israeli authorities and were primarily intended for families with children and other vulnerable persons.”

According to a report by the German news magazine Der Spiegel, the two planes took off from Wunstorf near Hanover Friday morning and landed in Tel Aviv in the late afternoon with special permission.

Over the past two days, Germans and close family members had already been flown out on special flights – not directly from Israel, but from Jordan.

On Thursday, a plane arrived in Berlin. On Wednesday, there was a flight to Frankfurt. A total of 345 people were on these two flights. These were charter flights; the air force was not involved.

The Foreign Office had facilitated the departure via Jordan. Another special flight from Jordan is scheduled for Saturday.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius thanked the soldiers. “We can rely on our Bundeswehr. After only a short warning time, our air force crews were on site. They carried out their mission in the crisis region with great professionalism.”

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said: “My sincere thanks go to our comrades in the Bundeswehr and our representatives on the ground for their courageous commitment today, which has enabled more Germans to leave the Middle East.”