Aussie man forced to leave his Israeli partner behind as he flees the country and she’s called up to the army to fight Hamas

An Australian man has revealed his harrowing experience after being forced to leave his partner in Israel as he fled the war-torn country on a repatriation flight.

Speaking from Heathrow Airport on Saturday, Blake Jory described his mixed emotions after making the difficult decision to leave behind his Israeli partner, who had been called up to serve in the country’s reserve forces.

The first Australian repatriation flight touched down at London Heathrow Airport at 19:45 local time (5:45am +1 AEDT) after departing from Ben Gurion Airport at 4:25pm local time (12:25 + 1 AEDT).

Jory was one of 220 Austrians on board the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Blake Jory (above) made the difficult decision to leave behind his Israeli partner, who had been called up to serve in the country’s reserve forces

Jory said his Israeli partner has been called up for reservist service, forcing him to leave her behind while he waits in London before returning to his home country.

‘It’s really hard. Today has been an extremely difficult day,” Jory told him Today Show

“We made the decision for me to come… Leave Israel because it can get very messy very quickly.

“She will go to the south, to the war zone.

“I’m just praying for him and thinking about him every second.”

Jory said his partner was happy to fight for her country and protect her people.

“After what happened on Saturday, I don’t blame him,” he said.

He said he felt tremendous relief after escaping the war zone.

“I’m feeling much better, much more confident,” he said.

Jory said spirits on the Qantas repatriation flight were lifting.

“Qantas was making everyone feel really comfortable and they were doing such a great job … like everyone was smiling,” he said.

He said he saw his fellow evacuees ‘smile for the first time’ since Hamas launched a devastating terror attack on 7 October.

Jory was one of 220 Austrians on board the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner which landed in London at 5.45am +1 AEDT on Saturday.

Two more repatriation flights for Australians will leave Tel Aviv and fly to London on Sunday and Tuesday

“Coming from the conflict in Israel and seeing, you know, these terrible things happen,” he said.

“You know the streets are empty … people are down, people, you know, they’re not in a good mood there.

A second 236-seat Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner will leave Tel Aviv en route to London on Sunday.

On Tuesday, a Qantas Airbus A380 will take off from London and land in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon, offering 484 seats to Australian-Israeli refugees free of charge.

All will be provided with accommodation in London while they wait for a flight to Australia on Tuesday.

Australians have been welcomed to London after boarding the repatriation plane from Tel Aviv

Jory said he saw fellow evacuees ‘smiling for the first time’ since Hamas launched a devastating terror attack on October 7 (action photo)

Australians hoping to catch rescue flights from Israel this week criticized the Albanian government after realizing the planes were dropping them off in London instead of taking them home.

One woman, who did not want to be named, told Daily Mail Australia she is grateful the planes are available, but said people are frustrated because they are going to England and there has been no communication about connecting flights.

She said there were further concerns because the two planes have a combined capacity of around 1,200 people, which could mean another 8,000 are lost.

“Does it count as repatriation if they are not brought home but picked up five hours away from home?” she asked.

“This creates another stressful and expensive experience for travelers who are already exhausted and traumatized.”