32 people rescued from the West Bank arrive in Brazil on presidency aircraft

The 32 people who were repatriated from the West Bank stepped on Brazilian soil at 5:30 a.m. this Thursday (November 2) in a new phase of Brazil’s Returning in Peace Operation. The VC-2 aircraft (Embraer 190) provided by the presidency made a first stop at Recife Air Force Base (in the state of Pernambuco), where everyone had breakfast and six passengers disembarked. The Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira/FAB) repatriation flight within the Federal Government operation then went as far as the Brasília Air Force Base and landed at 8:15 a.m.

From Brasília, remaining passengers’ final destinations — on commercial flights — are Foz do Iguaçu (eight people), São Paulo (five), Florianópolis (four), Rio de Janeiro (three), Curitiba (two), Goiânia (two) and Porto Alegre (one). Three people stayed in Recife and another three went on to Fortaleza. One remained in Brasília. Abla Aziz, one of the passengers heading to Foz do Iguaçu, summed up her feeling of gratitude in a few words: “I want peace.” Amer Aziz, who returns to the country with four children, said that the situation in the conflict area is very complicated: "Moving from one region to another was very difficult among armed people.”

Nazmieh Mohamed, 72 — the only passenger to disembark in Brasília — said she’d felt very afraid: "There are a lot of Brazilians in Gaza and no one is safe there." She confided that she felt like a bird being set free: "Thank you very much, Brazil, FAB and President Lula." Rural producer from Estrela (in the state of Rio Grande do Sul) Maged Gharib, 62, also thanked those involved in this repatriation. "In the city of Turmus Ayya we suffered the consequences, indirectly, with reprisals, blockades, ambushes and invasions of settlements — and we were instructed by the Brazilian embassy not to move within the city not to be attacked, "he said.

With this flight, the Federal Government’s Returning in Peace Operation has already ensured the safe return of 1,445 passengers on eight flights from Israel and one from Jordan, all commanded by FAB. All in all, 1,440 Brazilians, three Bolivians, one Palestinian and one Jordanian, as well as 53 pets, were rescued.

COMPLEXITY — For this new stage of the Brazilian Federal Government's undertaking, the country’s representation office in Ramallah has organized a complex rescue operation for 32 passengers from 12 families: 12 men, nine women and 11 children, as well as six elderly people — two of them in wheelchairs. Three vehicles chartered by the representation office took passengers from 11 West Bank cities to Jericho.

"The vehicles were identified with the Brazilian flag. For security, license plates, routes and passenger lists were shared with Palestinian and Israeli authorities," explained Brazilian ambassador Alessandro Candeas. The measure was essential to avoid bombing along the way.

In Jericho, everyone underwent migration procedures. From there, the group headed to the border crossing with Jordan, and then boarded another bus chartered by the Brazilian Government to Jordan’s capital Amman. The journey took just over an hour. The VC-2 aircraft took off from Jordan at 16:50 (local time) on Wednesday (November 1).

HUMANITARIAN AID — In addition to the repatriation flights, two aircraft belonging to the Brazilian Presidency have already taken food, medical supplies and water purifiers to the conflict region. On Thursday (November 2), 1.5 tons of food were sent to the population of the Gaza Strip, offered by Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST), are being unloaded at Al-Arish International Airport, in Egypt. The shipment was made up of rice, sugar, corn products and milk.

On October 18, another VC-2 landed in Egypt with water filtration equipment and health kits. The cargo contained 40 water purifiers capable of treating more than 220 thousand liters of water a day. Manufactured by Brazil with Brazilian technology, the equipment is capable of removing 100% of viruses and bacteria from water. Access to drinking water is one of the biggest hardships faced by the population of Gaza today.

Two health kits were also sent, each serving up to 3,000 people over the course of a month. They contain medicine and supplies such as anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, antibiotics, gloves and syringes. Altogether, each kit contains 48 items, adding up to 267 kilos.

BRAZILIANS IN GAZA — In the Gaza Strip, a region that does not border with the West Bank, another group of 34 Brazilians is still awaiting authorization to cross the border with Egypt, the only viable way to take another FAB flight, this time from Cairo toward Brazil. This Wednesday, the border was opened for the first time since the beginning of the conflict so that injured Palestinians and a group of around 450 foreigners may flee the region.

This first list includes citizens from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Indonesia, Jordan, Japan, and the Czech Republic, as well as professionals from the Red Cross and NGOs. The second list of foreigners allowed to leave Gaza, released on Thursday morning, still does not include Brazilians. The countries included are Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, South Korea, Croatia, the United States, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Mexico, Switzerland, Sri Lanka and Chad.

“New lists will be published soon and our Brazilians must be on them,” said Ambassador Candeas. Brazilian diplomacy and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva remain directly involved in negotiations to guarantee humanitarian aid in the region, to negotiate a ceasefire and to allow the opening of the border for the return of the Brazilians. Brazil presided over the UN Security Council in October and acted repeatedly to try to approve a consensual resolution that would help lead to dialogue and peace in the region.

Since the beginning of the conflict, on October 7, President Lula has talked over the phone with leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, France, Russia, Türkiye, Iran, Qatar and the European Council. Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira has also been involved in conversations with the foreign ministers of Israel and Egypt.