An unidentified man purchased plane tickets for Israeli Defence Force (IDF) heading to Israel at JFK airport on Monday, according to Fox News. The act of kindness was first shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Avi Meyer, a journalist. The development comes at a time when Hamas operatives attacked Israeli territory, killing hundreds. Israel retaliated strongly, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to "change the Middle East" in the country's war with Hamas, as the army pounded the Gaza Strip with air strikes.
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Israel's military also mobilised its reservists, as it ramped up its retaliation for the shock onslaught. And an anonymous man made the special gesture to make their return easier.
According to Fox News, the generous stranger purchased a total of 250 tickets for the IDF personnel. The man bought tickets at the counter for El Al Israel Airlines, and they were distributed to those who presented their IDF call-up notices.
El Al's spokeswoman, Ofri Rimoni, said that there has been a remarkable outpouring of support for reservists. Upon learning about this heartwarming incident, El Al reached out to its JFK airport staff to get more information about the individual.
On Monday, Israel's chief military spokesperson said that they have called up 300,000 military reservists to respond to a Hamas-led terror attack and invasion from the Gaza Strip.
The draft, the largest-ever for Israel, includes those who were previously enlisted and retired but are still under the age of 40.
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Israel declared war on Hamas on Sunday and has since carried out thousands of air strikes inside the densely populated territory of 2.3 million people.
The bombing campaign has destroyed more than 1,000 housing units, and 560 have been so severely damaged they are uninhabitable, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said, citing Palestinian authorities.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza, meaning "no electricity, no food, no water, no gas", in a move decried by the United Nations as a possible violation of international law.
