2023-10-08 22:30:53
A religious caravan of 103 Brazilians awaits rescue in Jerusalem, Israel, amid the Hamas terrorist attacks, which began on Saturday the 7th. This Sunday, the 8th, the Brazilian government announced the sending of six aircraft to repatriate the citizens.
The caravan is led by pastor Felippe Valadão, from the Lagoinha Church, in Niterói (RJ). The group left Brazil on September 28th and, passing through Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, arrived in Israel on the 2nd, last Monday. Arrival in Jerusalem took place three days ago.
“When we arrived in Jerusalem at night, we woke up at dawn to the sound of rockets”, recalls Valadão. “People were having coffee at the hotel, it was the greatest despair.”
Currently, the caravan is staying in a hotel in Jerusalem. Valadão’s prediction is that the group will be able to return to Brazil soon, after filling out a list sent by the Brazilian Embassy in Tel-Aviv.
Read also: “Hamas terrorist attack against Israel: UN Security Council ends meeting without consensus”
The group’s bridge with Itamaraty was made with the help of federal deputy Aureo Ribeiro (Solidariedade-RJ). According to the politician, there were problems contacting Itamaraty throughout Saturday, but, on Sunday morning, everything was already resolved.
“The people there are in a weakened emotional state,” said Ribeiro. “It’s a big challenge in this caravan, because there are babies and elderly people.”
According to the federal government, there are around 14 thousand Brazilians living in Israel, and another 6 thousand in Palestine. Since Saturday, sources say they have already received contact from 500 people seeking repatriation or more information.
The government will use six planes to search for Brazilians who are in the region of conflict between Israel and Hamas. The first repatriation operations should take place between Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th.
The list of those first rescued should be closed by Monday morning, according to the commander of the Brazilian air force (FAB), Air Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno.
“Climate of war“, says the leader of the Brazilian caravan in Jerusalem
Valadão reports on the tense atmosphere in the city of Jerusalem after the terrorist attacks. “The climate is war,” he observed. “It is possible to see soldiers and even civilians with weapons in their hands, such as machine guns. This is shocking for us, we are not used to it. Only emergency services are operating, such as bakeries and pharmacies. There are almost no restaurants open.”
The pastor reports that, for security reasons, the hotel where the group is staying banned the use of the space’s leisure areas, forcing guests to stay in the rooms. “When you turn on the television, there is only war news,” he noted. “It’s terrible. This harms people’s emotional health.”
Read more: “What’s in common between the murder of doctors in Rio and the Hamas terrorist attacks”
For the caravan, another option is to wait until Tuesday the 10th, when the return flight is planned to take off. The ticket was purchased by the group before the conflict broke out.
Until the publication of this report, Emirates airline had not canceled the trip, according to the pastor. “We will only have peace when we are inside the plane,” he said.
Magazine West, with information from State Agency
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