On 7th October, 2023 - Inherent Risks operations received an urgent request for the evacuation of 16 international students as a direct result of Hamas' attack on Israel.
Hundreds of Hamas gunmen crossed from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, breaking through the heavily guarded perimeter fence, landing by sea, and using paragliders. It was the most serious cross-border attack against Israel in more than a generation.
Hamas fired a reported 3,000 rockets into Israel, combined with gunmen arriving by ground sea and air, firing into crowds, resulting in 1,139 deaths, including 71 foreign nationals. Approximately 250 civilians and soldiers were also kidnapped and taken into Gaza to be held hostage.
The students we had been entrusted to rescue were in three separate locations, including Bethlehem in the West Bank, Ashdod and Tel Aviv.
While some international civilian flights into Israel had been cancelled, it was still possible to purchase flight tickets with airlines scheduled to depart within the next 12-hours.
Our operations team were able to communicate with, and coordinate transportation for, all 16-students to meet at the airport by 17:00hrs. The scheduled flight departed Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv several hours later without incident.
During this time, Inherent Risks received several requests for evacuation of people and assets from foreign companies and international NGOs, all of which were carried out successfully without incident.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on 7th October, 2023 - Inherent Risks has been working with insurers and brokers to provide risk assessments and emergency response planning which has enabled medical evacuation, crisis response and personal accident insurance to be provided for global media and humanitarian organisations.
See also: Israel Risk Map