Pesi Sikalu (with Tongan flag) with Members of the New Zealand Tongan Ethnic Youth church group in Israel.
Pesi Sikalu (with Tongan flag) with Members of the New Zealand Tongan Ethnic Youth church group in Israel.
Tongan officials have stepped up to help members of a New Zealand-based church group who found themselves stuck in Israel after the deadly surprise attack that killed hundreds and wounded thousands of people.
They arrived in Jerusalem early last week, just a few days before the devastating weekend assault by Hamas gunmen.
Pesi Sikalu told the Herald this morning they had received good news overnight - Turkish Airlines is now set to resume a flight out of Israel that the group is booked to be on.
The Tongan Government has also sent its consul representative to be with the group.
“He will travel with us all the way back to New Zealand to ensure our safe arrival and has assured us that there are contingency plans in place in case anything happens - and that Tonga is willing to cover any costs if that’s the case,” Sikalu said.
Pesi Sikalu with a nun from a holy site visited by the New Zealand Tongan Ethnic Youth church group in Israel. Photo / Pesi Sikalu
“At this stage, we are praying and waiting for [the day] to arrive so we can begin our journey back home.”
She acknowledged many were anxious to get back to New Zealand and to see loved ones, especially given what they had been through since the attack.
“It’s crazy. We had to take cover under a shelter - it was just a wall. We could feel the vibrations of the bombings happening.
“We heard a lot of gunfire, the bombings. We’re right in the thick of it. We’re just trying to stay strong, trying to stay sane. We’re scared.”
Sikalu approached the newspaper yesterday after their initial flight with Turkish Airlines was cancelled and they had not heard from the airline for two days.
They had also been in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade but had not received any communication with it either.
A statement from MFAT late this afternoon acknowledged they had since been in touch with members of the group and provided consular advice.
“Commercial flights have been operating out of Ben Gurion Airport, in Israel, and we know that New Zealanders have been able to secure seats. Some airlines have added additional flights,” a spokeswoman said.
“We recognise that there is a challenge for larger groups wishing to leave Israel and this may mean that larger groups need to make a series of smaller flight bookings.
“We are, of course, monitoring the situation in Israel, including the status of the airports.”
‘The fear is starting to rise’
With a total of 210 kiwis registered on SafeTravel as being in Israel, the group makes up a large chunk of New Zealanders there at the moment.
There are 10 New Zealanders registered in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, an MFAT spokeswoman said yesterday.
The gravity of the situation is not lost on the group, who experienced first-hand the very real threat that still exists; when sirens started going off near a historical site they were visiting not far from their hotel.
“We’d just gotten off the bus and started walking up the hill when our tour guide told that the siren had alarmed and to take cover under the shelter.
“It was pretty unnerving,” Sikalu said.
“As we were up against the walls there, we could hear the bombs going off and feel the vibrations on the walls and ground. We were literally stunned and just stood there looking at each other, trying our best to stay strong.”
A woman in the group shared a video of that moment on TikTok. In the video, church members of all ages can be seen standing within what appears to be a cave-like section of a historical site.
Sikalu said the woman - speaking in Tongan - is telling viewers what is happening and what they can hear and feel.
“[She’s saying that] the tour guide told us not to panic and here we all are. When she says: ‘Oh no, oh no’, that’s when we could hear and feel the bombs...and she starts to panic a little.
“She’s saying the fear is starting to rise in her. She says the bombs are going off and the people are panicking.”
