Fij's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka welcomed the safe return home of 198 Fijians who were in Jerusalem when war broke out between Israel and Hamas on the Gaza border.

They were given a traditional welcome at Nadi International Airport this morning, 12 October.

Fiji Village website reported that the pilgrims arrived on Fiji Airways flight 2394, which had landed at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, on Tuesday night with a mission to bring Fijians home.

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua said at a press conference on Wednesday that the flight had departed safely, and the audacious commitment of Fiji Airways, especially the valiant crew members “who chose to fly into a nation at war,” could not be overstated.

He confirmed that the flight had also brought back international travellers, including 13 Australians, 16 New Zealanders, 8 Samoans, 2 Canadians, 2 Filipinos and 2 Americans.

Fiji Airways flew into Tel Aviv for the first time a fortnight ago, carrying a large group of Christian pilgrims, as Fiji sought to build closer ties with Israel after it pledged to open an embassy next year.

Several international airlines have suspended flight services to Tel Aviv after the surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend and continued fighting, impacting hundreds of flights.

The Fiji Times reported that the special chartered flight crewed by Captains Senii Cornish, Richard Yuen, Etika Tuisue and Mukesh Patel had picked up the more than 200 FIjian pilgrims from Tel Aviv Tuesday night.