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Matzav · Sep 30, 2026

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HOLDOUTS HEADING HOME: 174 Israelis Leave Saudi Arabia After Mossad Clears Flydubai Crew and Holdouts Agree to Board The emergency began while FZ1073 was cruising toward Israel and suddenly transmitted a transponder code indicating unlawful interference aboard an aircraft — the internationally recognized signal associated with a possible hijacking. Israeli authorities initially lost contact with the aircraft, prompting the Israeli Air Force to scramble fighter jets as senior officials attempted to determine whether a hijacked passenger plane could be approaching Israeli airspace. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other senior defense officials held urgent security consultations as the crisis unfolded. It subsequently emerged that a violent confrontation had erupted inside the cockpit. According to Israel’s preliminary assessment, the copilot — identified in Israeli reports as an Omani national — attacked and repeatedly stabbed the captain and then attempted to deliberately bring down the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Saudi Arabia and Flydubai have not yet publicly confirmed the Israeli characterization of the incident as terrorism, and investigators are continuing to examine the suspect’s motive. Israeli officials said evidence increasingly pointed toward a deliberate terrorist attack rather than an episode stemming from a personal dispute or mental-health crisis. Defense Minister Katz has described the incident as an attempted “jihadist terrorist attack,” saying Israel’s initial information indicated that the alleged attacker intended to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard. Passengers and other flight crew members heard screams coming from the cockpit and rushed forward. Several passengers then entered the cockpit, joined the struggle and succeeded in dragging the alleged attacker away from the controls. A senior Israeli official said afterward that “an extremely serious disaster was averted.” Tzvika Manes, CEO of Barak Capital Underwriting, was traveling with his wife and young daughters and was among three passengers who rushed into the cockpit and helped overpower the alleged attacker. “I’m covered in blood. It was insane,” he said. Manes subsequently provided a more detailed account, saying the passengers had difficulty restraining the suspected attacker because of his strength. With no conventional restraints available, they eventually tied him up using cables from the aircraft’s entertainment headphones. Meanwhile, other passengers aboard the flight documented the immediate aftermath of the struggle. In one video, a passenger with blood covering part of his face can be seen addressing the camera as the aircraft prepared for its emergency landing. “We have just taken control of the terrorists. We’re preparing to land. Anyone who can hear me, we need help.” Yitzhak Lieber, another passenger aboard FZ1073, described how passengers reacted after discovering that a knife-wielding attacker had injured one of the pilots. “We took control here on the flight of the attacker with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We just jumped in, and a few of us got them out of the cockpit. Everything is fine now.” Footage recorded aboard the aircraft showed passengers and crew members securing the cockpit entrance after the attacker had been removed, while medical professionals among the passengers treated the wounded captain. A doctor and nurse aboard the aircraft stabilized the injured pilot, according to Manes. Additional qualified pilots who were traveling aboard FZ1073 then helped take control of the plane after the alleged attacker was subdued. Flight data captured the severity of what was happening in the air. The aircraft suddenly dropped approximately 14,000 feet — roughly 4,200 meters — in an extraordinarily short period during the cockpit struggle. FZ1073 descended from about 34,000 feet toward 20,000 feet as the emergency unfolded. The aircraft initially transmitted squawk code 7700, signaling a general emergency, before switching to 7500, the code for unlawful interference. Contact was eventually established with Saudi authorities, and the aircraft diverted to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk. The plane landed safely, and Saudi authorities took the suspected attacker into custody. Both pilots were taken to a hospital, while the passengers were brought into the terminal and questioned about what they had witnessed. Netanyahu later said he spoke directly with one of the Israelis who intervened aboard the aircraft and praised those who entered the cockpit for preventing catastrophe. “I salute these heroes, who displayed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he said. “They saved many lives. They prevented a major disaster.” Once the immediate danger had passed, Israeli officials faced the unusual challenge of bringing more than 170 Israelis home from Saudi Arabia, a country with which Israel has no formal diplomatic relations. Israeli authorities considered several options, including sending an Israeli civilian or military aircraft to Tabuk. El Al also reportedly offered to operate a special rescue flight. Ultimately, however, Flydubai dispatched its own replacement aircraft. That immediately produced anxiety among some of the passengers. Manes said the reluctance was understandable after the ordeal they had just survived. “It makes sense that people are afraid to fly with the same airline after going through something so traumatic,” he said. The Mossad subsequently reviewed the replacement crew and approved the flight. Manes said he also personally checked the identities of the pilots and was told that one was Australian and the other Ukrainian. With those assurances in place, the passengers who had initially refused to board changed their minds and joined the rest of the group. The replacement Flydubai jet then departed Tabuk with all 174 passengers aboard, bringing the group home after a day that began with a routine flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and turned into a bloody struggle for control of an aircraft thousands of feet above the Middle East. READ MORE👉👉 --- 📲 Join the Matzav.com WhatsApp Family! 🗞️

*HOLDOUTS HEADING HOME: 174 Israelis Leave Saudi Arabia After Mossad Clears Flydubai Crew and Holdouts Agree to Board* The emergency began while FZ1073 was cruising toward Israel and suddenly transmitted a transponder code indicating unlawful interference aboard an aircraft — the internationally recognized signal associated with a possible hijacking. Israeli authorities initially lost contact with the aircraft, prompting the Israeli Air Force to scramble fighter jets as senior officials attempted to determine whether a hijacked passenger plane could be approaching Israeli airspace. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other senior defense officials held urgent security consultations as the crisis unfolded. It subsequently emerged that a violent confrontation had erupted inside the cockpit. According to Israel’s preliminary assessment, the copilot — identified in Israeli reports as an Omani national — attacked and repeatedly stabbed the captain and then attempted to deliberately bring down the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Saudi Arabia and Flydubai have not yet publicly confirmed the Israeli characterization of the incident as terrorism, and investigators are continuing to examine the suspect’s motive. Israeli officials said evidence increasingly pointed toward a deliberate terrorist attack rather than an episode stemming from a personal dispute or mental-health crisis. Defense Minister Katz has described the incident as an attempted “jihadist terrorist attack,” saying Israel’s initial information indicated that the alleged attacker intended to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard. Passengers and other flight crew members heard screams coming from the cockpit and rushed forward. Several passengers then entered the cockpit, joined the struggle and succeeded in dragging the alleged attacker away from the controls. A senior Israeli official said afterward that “an extremely serious disaster was averted.” Tzvika Manes, CEO of Barak Capital Underwriting, was traveling with his wife and young daughters and was among three passengers who rushed into the cockpit and helped overpower the alleged attacker. “I’m covered in blood. It was insane,” he said. Manes subsequently provided a more detailed account, saying the passengers had difficulty restraining the suspected attacker because of his strength. With no conventional restraints available, they eventually tied him up using cables from the aircraft’s entertainment headphones. Meanwhile, other passengers aboard the flight documented the immediate aftermath of the struggle. In one video, a passenger with blood covering part of his face can be seen addressing the camera as the aircraft prepared for its emergency landing. “We have just taken control of the terrorists. We’re preparing to land. Anyone who can hear me, we need help.” Yitzhak Lieber, another passenger aboard FZ1073, described how passengers reacted after discovering that a knife-wielding attacker had injured one of the pilots. “We took control here on the flight of the attacker with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We just jumped in, and a few of us got them out of the cockpit. Everything is fine now.” Footage recorded aboard the aircraft showed passengers and crew members securing the cockpit entrance after the attacker had been removed, while medical professionals among the passengers treated the wounded captain. A doctor and nurse aboard the aircraft stabilized the injured pilot, according to Manes. Additional qualified pilots who were traveling aboard FZ1073 then helped take control of the plane after the alleged attacker was subdued. Flight data captured the severity of what was happening in the air. The aircraft suddenly dropped approximately 14,000 feet — roughly 4,200 meters — in an extraordinarily short period during the cockpit struggle. FZ1073 descended from about 34,000 feet toward 20,000 feet as the emergency unfolded. The aircraft initially transmitted squawk code 7700, signaling a general emergency, before switching to 7500, the code for unlawful interference. Contact was eventually established with Saudi authorities, and the aircraft diverted to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk. The plane landed safely, and Saudi authorities took the suspected attacker into custody. Both pilots were taken to a hospital, while the passengers were brought into the terminal and questioned about what they had witnessed. Netanyahu later said he spoke directly with one of the Israelis who intervened aboard the aircraft and praised those who entered the cockpit for preventing catastrophe. “I salute these heroes, who displayed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he said. “They saved many lives. They prevented a major disaster.” Once the immediate danger had passed, Israeli officials faced the unusual challenge of bringing more than 170 Israelis home from Saudi Arabia, a country with which Israel has no formal diplomatic relations. Israeli authorities considered several options, including sending an Israeli civilian or military aircraft to Tabuk. El Al also reportedly offered to operate a special rescue flight. Ultimately, however, Flydubai dispatched its own replacement aircraft. That immediately produced anxiety among some of the passengers. Manes said the reluctance was understandable after the ordeal they had just survived. “It makes sense that people are afraid to fly with the same airline after going through something so traumatic,” he said. The Mossad subsequently reviewed the replacement crew and approved the flight. Manes said he also personally checked the identities of the pilots and was told that one was Australian and the other Ukrainian. With those assurances in place, the passengers who had initially refused to board changed their minds and joined the rest of the group. The replacement Flydubai jet then departed Tabuk with all 174 passengers aboard, bringing the group home after a day that began with a routine flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and turned into a bloody struggle for control of an aircraft thousands of feet above the Middle East. *READ MORE*👉👉 https://matzav.com/holdouts-heading-home-174-israelis-leave-saudi-arabia-after-mossad-clears-flydubai-crew-and-holdouts-agree-to-board/ --- 📲 *Join the Matzav.com WhatsApp Family!* 🗞️ https://wa.link/8bhhfl

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