A Hatzolah Air air ambulance piloted by the nonprofit’s founder, Eli Rowe, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport early Friday, January 9, bringing Israeli national Gefen Bitton to Israel for further treatment after he was seriously wounded confronting attackers during the Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney, the organization said. The transfer was carried out with an eight-person critical-care team on board and in coordination with Israeli and Australian partners. Source: mission details provided by Hatzolah Air.
According to Hatzolah Air, the aircraft was routed from New York to Honolulu to Sydney, then via Bangkok to Israel, totaling roughly 40 hours of flight time. Rowe personally captained the mission, which used a long-range aircraft configured as a flying intensive care unit with a continuous care capability of up to 14 hours per leg.
Complex evacuation coordination across continents
Bitton underwent several surgeries in Sydney before his family requested a transfer to Israel. Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Jewish communal activists in Sydney assisted, and Hatzolah Air estimates operational expenses at about $500,000, calling it one of the organization’s most complex evacuations.
Hatzolah Air’s Israel branch, active since 2021, operates alongside a national helicopter evacuation system run with Magen David Adom, currently fielding five S-76 helicopters for round-the-clock response.
“Hatzolah Air salutes the Israeli hero Gefen Bitton and is proud to take part in the mission to bring him home to Israel… We wish him a full and speedy recovery,” Hatzolah Air founder Eli Rowe said.