Photo/Illutration Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno speaks at a news conference on Oct. 12. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan said on Oct. 13 that it will arrange a charter flight to evacuate citizens from Israel in response to the intensifying clashes between the Israeli military and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference that the government will arrange a charter flight from Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 14.

“Although commercial flights are operating, airline companies are limiting the number of flights more than usual. The situation (in Israel) is very fluid,” he said.

The Japanese Embassy in Tel Aviv earlier conducted a survey among Japanese citizens asking whether they wanted to leave Israel.

“We decided to arrange a charter flight to help citizens leave the country and ensure their safety,” Matsuno said, referring to the survey results.

According to several sources, the government is also coordinating to dispatch a Self-Defense Forces plane to Djibouti in eastern Africa, where the SDF has a base for anti-piracy operations, to possibly carry Japanese nationals.

On Oct. 13, the Foreign Ministry also called on those wishing to leave Israel early to board an emergency flight arranged for free by the South Korean government.

The flight is expected to depart from Tel Aviv’s airport around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 and arrive in Seoul via Sri Lanka. It is available to Japanese nationals, their spouses and children.

The Japanese Embassy sent out an email to its citizens after receiving information from the South Korean Embassy in Israel on the night of Oct. 12.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas, which effectively controls the Gaza Strip, is escalating, leaving thousands of people dead.

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