Ivano Zannol (53) was stuck in Israel with the Spanish-speaking mission for the canton of Aargau: So the 47-member tour group returned to Switzerland

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You did it! Ivano Zannol (53) from Strengelbach AG and the other 46 people from the Spanish-speaking mission of the canton of Aargau who were stuck in Israel can sleep in their own beds again today. 17 of them have already landed; the remaining 30 are expected in the evening. “We are just happy that we survived all this and finally have safe ground under our feet again,” Zannol happily tells Blick.

The 47-member tour group traveled to the Holy Land on October 4 and had planned a tour of several holy sites. The Swiss citizens, along with people from South America, Italy and Nigeria, started their tour in Tel Aviv. From there we went to Nazareth for a few days and then to Bethlehem. There the traveling group was surprised by the outbreak of violence.

“Rockets were heard several times,” Zannol said in a call for help. “We had to quickly return to the hotel and were not allowed to leave it for a long time.” The problem: Bethlehem is in the Palestinian autonomous region. “It was too risky to stay in this area.” The group had to leave suddenly, a day earlier than planned. Fortunately, it was closed by the army just minutes after the group crossed the border into Israel. “Two minutes later and we were stuck in the West Bank,” Zannol said.

Fear of an even greater escalation

The group eventually arrives safely at a hotel in Jerusalem. But the fear remained. “When the sirens sounded, all hotel guests fled in panic to the lobby,” Zannol said, describing the tense situation. They were trapped and “terrified”. The only Swiss flight that day was fully booked within a very short time and another flight was canceled the next day. “We had no idea what would happen to us and were afraid the situation would escalate even further.”

Then suddenly it happened quickly. The Italian travel agency that organized the trip for the group found a solution. “Wednesday morning we were taken by bus to the Jordanian capital Amman,” says Zannol. Everyone got a hotel room there and flights were organized.

“I, my wife and fifteen others in the group were later able to fly to Doha, the capital of Qatar. There we were out of danger for the first time!” says Zannol. They then flew six and a half hours back to Switzerland on Thursday morning and landed in Zurich in the afternoon. «I can’t describe the feeling when we were finally back in the safety of Switzerland. We prayed that everything would be okay!” The second part of the group will fly from Cairo to Switzerland tonight.

Ivano Zannol, his wife and everyone else in the traveling group would like to thank everyone involved that the repatriation from the dangerous area to Switzerland was ultimately successful. “We are extremely grateful to everyone who helped us.” At this time, our thoughts are also with the many people who lost their lives in the attacks. And: “At some point, when Israel is safe again, we would like to fly there again.”

Source: Blick