An Israeli airline said radar failure at the Tbilisi airport would prevent it from evacuating Israelis from Georgia.
Arkia Israel Airlines said Monday it could not fly out 100 Israeli nationals waiting to leave Georgia because the airport radar had been bombed beyond function, Ha’aretz reported.
The airline is working to reroute passengers through Azerbaijan.
European carriers reportedly have suspended all flights from their home countries to the Georgian capital because of the fighting that has broken out in the past several days between Russian and Georgian forces in the breakaway South Ossettia region and beyond.
Meanwhile, the Jewish Agency for Israel said it evacuated 200 Jews Saturday from the war-torn Georgian city of Gori.
The Jewish Agency also received 60 new applications for aliyah to Israel at its Tbilisi office, according to a news release. On Sunday, eight Georgian immigrants arrived in Israel.
According to the Jewish Agency, some 10,000 Jews live in Georgia, mostly in the capital city and its environs.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
