October 7 orphans stranded at airport following missile barrage

(A7) A group of 33 travelers, including orphaned children and their guardians, was stranded at Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday after their flight was cancelled due to a missile barrage on central Israel, Israel Hayom reported.

All of the children were orphaned during the October 7 massacre, and some of them lost siblings and other relatives in addition to both parents.

The Iberia flight was supposed to take off for the first lap of a trip to Mexico, where the children were scheduled to enjoy a trip under the auspirces of the OneFamily organization for terror victims and paid for by donations, but the airline canceled the flight at the last moment, following the sirens.

Despite efforts, the organizers did not succeed in reaching the Israeli representative for the airline, and the children and their guardians have been left in limbo.

Some of the children told Israel Hayom that the representatives at Ben Gurion Airport are not responsive, and that they have been sitting in the airport waiting for an answer, not knowing if a solution will be found which would allow them to continue on their trip to Mexico. Various airlines have attempted to find solutions, but due to space limitations, there is a limit on the number of tickets available on each flight, and the group has not yet found a solution.

“We are here, the children are sad and crying, my heart hurts to see them like this,” the representatives of OneFamily said. “These are children who lost at least both of their parents, and there are those who also lost siblings and other relatives, it really hurts.”

The group is missing its connection flight from Madrid to Mexico, and the delegation is trying to find creative solutions, such as splitting up the group and taking different flights, so that they can begin the trip they waited so long for.