A travel ordeal late Friday night left a group of Israelis stranded between borders after unexpected flight delays prevented them from entering Israel via Jordan.
The situation unfolded around 8:00 p.m., when MK Moshe Roth of United Torah Judaism received a distress call from an Israeli citizen among a group stuck at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. The travelers, which included several families with young children, were originally scheduled to fly to Aqaba, Jordan, and then cross into Israel. However, repeated flight delays pushed their departure to 11:00 p.m.
By the time their flight landed, the Jordanian border had already closed at its usual hour of 8:00 p.m., leaving the group stranded in an unsecured and unfamiliar location during the night.
Since the border was not scheduled to reopen until late the next morning, the group faced long hours of vulnerability and discomfort. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, MK Roth quickly took action to seek a resolution.
He reached out to Deputy Minister Uri Maklev, the Foreign Ministry’s Situation Room, and senior members of Israel’s security establishment to begin coordinating an urgent response. The Israeli officials worked diplomatic channels to contact Jordanian authorities and request an exceptional reopening of the border.
After intense efforts, the Israeli team was able to contact and wake the Jordanian officer in charge of the crossing. That officer agreed to open the border for the stranded group. A senior official on the Jordanian side took possession of the Israelis’ passports, and the local police provided a secure escort from the airport to the border.
The operation was carried out under strict security protocols, given the threats in the region. At 3:00 a.m., after several hours of high-stakes coordination, the group finally crossed safely into Israeli territory.
Individuals familiar with the overnight operation highlighted the active involvement and dedication of MK Roth, who remained in touch with the group throughout the night and worked closely with different agencies to coordinate the complex logistics.
“In the end, the ones who took action, made the effort, and cared were the Knesset members from United Torah Judaism,” said one member of the rescued group. “It didn’t matter to them who was stranded — religious, secular, young people, or families. They gave us genuine help without asking questions; their only concern was to help Jews in distress.”
{Matzav.com Israel}