Hundreds of Israeli families have travelled to the UK and are being supported by Jewish organisations in Britain, it is understood.
As the crisis in the Middle East escalates, many people in Israel with connections to Britain have fled without knowing when they will return home, community groups have told The Times.
Ministers have been urged to introduce emergency refugee routes for Israelis and Palestinians in response to an expected surge of people fleeing the conflict over the coming weeks.
Sharon Shochat, of Defend Israeli Democracy UK, said that the number of Israeli families who had come to Britain over the past two weeks was “in the hundreds ... Some of them are from the Kibbutzim, the most affected communities. Others are from all over. A rocket fell on the building next to my sister’s house in Tel Aviv and they waited for a week and decided to leave.”
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People were choosing to come to the UK particularly if they had friends or family here, Shochat said. “From what I’m seeing, it is mainly people from Israel with links to the UK that are coming here, family, friends, some previous work.”
Defend Israeli Democracy UK is part of a coalition of organisations in Britain that help to host dozens of Israeli families who were stranded abroad when the majority of flights into Israel were cancelled.
Jewish organisations in Britain are now helping to place Israeli children in schools and nurseries and to find accommodation for those in need. Individuals are also using social media to offer help including with toys and books for children or trauma therapy for families fleeing the conflict.
Thirty charities have written a joint letter calling on the government to urgently prepare a response to an expected surge of people fleeing the fighting over the coming weeks. They have urged the government to put in place a five-point plan.
Organisations including the Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Doctors of the World, the Helen Bamber Foundation and City of Sanctuary have raised concerns about the conflict worsening the Palestinian refugee crisis. They said emergency routes set out by the government must include medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care, an emergency family reunion scheme, an emergency refugee protection visa, facilitated travel for British nationals and those with the right to enter the UK.
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The groups also have called on the government to prioritise cases of Israelis and Palestinians already in the UK asylum system. There are 647 Palestinians awaiting a decision and 39 Israelis, but claims from both nationalities are expected to surge as the conflict deepens.
