Governments join rescue effort as airlines face Israel insurance alert

Governments and airlines scrambled to lay on flights to evacuate thousands of tourists from Israel and repatriate the country's citizens, as the industry faced a warning over insurance cover in the wake of weekend attacks. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it would operate 12 extra flights on Wednesday and Thursday to and from Athens, Rome, Madrid, Bucharest, New York, Paris, Larnaca and Istanbul. Its low-cost unit Sun Dor also plans rescue flights from Istanbul. El Al had already announced an additional flight from New York and six flights to and from Larnaca. The latest move came as the combined death toll reported by both sides following the weekend attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas and retaliatory strikes by Israeli forces reached more than 2,000 people. Most foreign airlines have suspended or curtailed services, leaving passengers uncertain how to leave or reach the country and consular services struggling to keep up with demand for assistance, with priority given to those with missing relatives. Israel's parliamentary finance committee said late on Tuesday it would debate authorising state guarantees for providing war risk insurance for Israeli airlines. The panel said insurance companies had indicated they were entitled to cancel cover with seven days' notice. Airline executives said some cover was still available. A senior official at insurance industry body Lloyd’s Market Association said Israel is not on a commonly used list of high-risk areas for aviation, but that it made sense for underwriters to seek to control their exposure given the escalating violence. "Some have therefore given notice to amend terms and conditions,” Neil Roberts, head of marine & aviation, said. British Airways said it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv after diverting a flight from London back to Britain shortly before it was due to reach Tel Aviv, citing security concerns. In an unusual move, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told reporters he had brought 34 Czechs back from Israel with him on his government plane after he stopped in the country on the way back from a conference in Oman. The minister, who the Czech government said was the first foreign official to visit Israel since the attacks, did not rule out sending another repatriation flight to Israel. Story has more.<br/>