Mexico Evacuates 276 Mexicans From Israel, Sends Two Air Force Planes
Mexico’s government successfully evacuated 276 Mexicans from Israel on Tuesday.
The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the news yesterday, posting photos of passengers on X. The department captioned the photos with, “Welcome home,” stating that the passengers were marked “safe” after landing in Felipe Ángeles International Airport near Mexico City.
As per Relaciones Exteriores’ description on X, some passengers stopped in Turkey, Ireland, Canada, and the United States before reaching Mexico. The government has sent two Mexican Air Force planes to Israel so far, both departing from Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod.
“The first Mexican Air Force plane was from the Ministry of National Defense, coordinated with the support of Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Relaciones Exteriores explained on X. “[It brought] the first 135 Mexicans repatriated from Israel and Palestine’s zones.”
Quickly, pictures surfaced on the internet of the Mexicans aboard the evacuation planes. Here, you can see them smiling and waving from their seats on one of the B738 jets:
Social media users continue to comment on Mexico’s swift actions in evacuating its citizens from the war zone. As one X user wrote, “Mexico pulled up to Israel to pick up the Mexicans so fast. They don’t play.”
Meanwhile, a viral Instagram reel couldn’t help but agree with that sentiment. “Never forget Mexico sent two passenger planes into an active war zone to recover its citizens.”
One IG user added in the post’s comments section: “That’s some boss s**t right there! Well respected! Says a lot about Mexico and Mexicans.”
Mexico’s president announced the government’s evacuation plans for Mexicans in Israel
On Monday, Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the government would send planes to Israel to evacuate 300 Mexican nationals.
“About the Mexicans that are in Israel, a plane is departing today to bring back those who want to come to Mexico,” the president explained in a press conference. “The ambassadors in Palestine and Israel are working on it.”
“There are around 300 Mexicans who have signed up, who want to leave, in the case of Israel,” he added.
According to The San Diego-Union Tribune, by Monday, there were around 5,000 Mexicans in Israel. However, only “hundreds” of them had applied for evacuation.
“The majority of Mexicans who are in Israel are there on tourism, fundamentally religious trips,” Obrador described. He also confirmed the government would promptly send two planes.
On October 8, the Mexican government also issued a statement on the Israel-Hamas war.
“The Government of Mexico has been closely following the recent events in Israel and Palestine,” the statement described. “And unequivocally condemns the unacceptable attacks against the people of Israel on October 7 by Hamas and other Palestinian organizations in Gaza.”
While the Mexican government said it “recognizes Israel’s right to legitimate self-defense,” it also stayed firm in “condemning the use of force, regardless of which side uses it, especially when the targets are civilians.” The country also said it favored a “two-state solution,” for Israel and Palestine.
By October 10, the country fulfilled its promise to evacuate its citizens. That day, Mexico sent two planes and military service members to Israel, all in the name of bringing back their people. One notable detail? Once some of the Mexican evacuees reached Israel’s airport, they couldn’t help but sing “Cielito Lindo” together.
Check out the astonishing moment here:
Everything to know about the 276 Mexicans’ journey back to their home country
The two planes that evacuated Mexican citizens on Tuesday brought together government authorities, military service members, and doctors:
As noted by Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, the mission was “led by women” in collaboration with the country’s Ministry of National Defense. They also posted a photo of some of the heroes:
Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alicia Bárcena, described on X that the first plane brought back 135 Mexicans from the war zone. Bárcena later added that the second plane evacuated an additional 141 citizens.
Here, you can see the moment the first plane landed in Mexico’s Felipe Ángeles International Airport, and the people awaiting the passengers:
And later, the second plane’s swift landing:
As Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also noted on X, the evacuated passengers consisted of “entire families, mothers with daughters or sons, elderly people or with illnesses, boys and girls.”
They also explained that their efforts were all in the name of “safely repatriating the first Mexicans from the zone of Israel and Palestine.”
“They are home,” the department added.
As seen in onsite videos, the evacuees were greeted by personnel as they walked down the plane’s ramp:
By the time the passengers landed, they posed for a photo together at the airport. Bárcena noted on X, “Each one of the 276 people who came from Israel represent saved lives and reunited families. Mexican women and men with first and last names.”
As one X user recently wrote, “In moments like these, I am so happy that I am also a Mexican citizen. The concept is simple. Go get your people.”
