German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s plane had to be evacuated at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday evening due to rocket attacks. Scholz was visiting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
Journalists flying with Scholz shared pictures and videos on social media.
The video clips show how aids and journalists travelling with the German leader had to hastily leave the plane and take cover by lying down on the runway, while Scholz was evacuated to a shelter near the airport.
“I saw two missiles which were intercepted by Israeli Iron Dome (air defence system) and destroyed in the sky,” said a German journalist travelling with Scholz.
Scholz and those flying with him were able to board the plane a few minutes later. The chancellor was visiting Israel on Tuesday to express his solidarity with the country following Hamas’s surprise and brutal terror attack. His visit also aimed at de-escalating the tension between two countries and improve humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Scholz was evacuated just before the plane planned to take off toward Cairo, where he is supposed to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Ek-Sisi on Wednesday.
