Repatriation flights get underway for Israeli citizens stranded abroad

Israel has launched a phased airlift operation to bring home its citizens with the first flight touching down in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.

Tens of thousands of them have been stranded in countries abroad since Israel launched its pre-dawn attack on Iran last Friday, closing airspace across the Middle East.

Large numbers of Israelis trying to get home have converged on Cyprus, which is the European Union member state that is the…