By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ANTALYA, TURKEY (Worthy News) – Israel’s national carrier, El Al, announced Sunday that its flight from the Polish capital, Warsaw, to Tel Aviv in Israel was not allowed to refuel in Turkey after an emergency landing there to evacuate a passenger for medical reasons.
El Al said Turkish workers at Antalya airport in south-west Turkey refused to refuel flight LY5102 before it could take off for Israel. Turkish diplomats confirmed the emergency landing.
After waiting several hours on the tarmac of Turkey’s third busiest airport, the plane took off for Rhodes Island in Greece to refuel before heading to Tel Aviv.
Despite temperatures of up to 38 Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) outside, according to weather reports monitored by Worthy News, passengers were reportedly told they had no permission to leave the plane.
“Local workers refused to refuel the company’s plane even though it was a medical case,” El Al said, adding that the passenger was evacuated.
Relations between Turkey and Israel further deteriorated since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting about 250 other persons.
After Israel launched its war against Hamas, all direct flights between Israel and Turkey were canceled.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and expressed support for Hamas as defenders “of their homeland.”
Hamas was designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and the European Union, among others.
The Hamas-run health ministry claims Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 37,877 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. Israel has given slightly lower figures and says nearly half of the dead are “Hamas terrorists.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
France and Saudi Arabia will convene a high-level international conference aimed at advancing the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on July 28-29, multiple diplomatic sources confirmed Friday.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States has reached a new deal with NATO to provide weapons to Ukraine, with full reimbursement from the alliance. The announcement follows growing frustration over Russia’s intensifying assault on Ukrainian civilians and a temporary Pentagon pause on U.S. arms shipments earlier this month.
Civilians backed by Sudanese security forces have demolished the building of a Pentecostal Church in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, Christians told Worthy News Friday.
There was mounting concern Friday that Ukraine will be split up under a future peace deal and that Kyiv will be forced to accept it due to relentless Russian long-range drone and missile strikes.
A major Christian advocacy group has asked Colombia’s government to urgently “conduct a full and coordinated investigation” into the disappearance of a Roman Catholic priest who was last seen on June 17.
Europe marks the 30th anniversary of the “Srebrenica massacre”, its worst single atrocity since World War Two.
Nearly 46 million acres of forest and farmland are held by foreign investors, including by countries hostile to America, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.