A new report claims as many as 20 US aerial refueling tankers are present at Ben Gurion Airport, according to the source. The figure adds further detail to the ongoing US logistical presence in Israel amid the regional campaign.
A new report Tuesday afternoon claims that up to 20 US aerial refueling tankers are present at Ben Gurion Airport. The figure was reported by a single source; it has not been independently verified. If accurate, it would align with a directive issued earlier today by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who authorized up to 20 such aircraft on the tarmac — a directive that, according to earlier reports, has not yet been fully implemented, with approximately 30 refuelers still on site.
This development is the latest in a thread The Zioneer has tracked from early this morning. At 10:09 Jerusalem, the desk reported that the US had frozen the removal of fuel tankers from Ben Gurion amid the security escalation, raising the risk of 50,000 ticket cancellations. By 10:09 Jerusalem, Regev had directed the airport to deny additional landings. At 13:27 Jerusalem, a directive from the Israel Airports Authority barred additional landings due to severe congestion. At 13:51 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that US tankers remained at the airport amid an ongoing fuel crisis. The reporting has evolved from a single N12 channel report to corroboration by multiple Israeli news outlets.
As The Zioneer has previously reported, US aerial refueling tankers have been arriving and departing over recent weeks. On June 5, satellite imagery showed 63 US transport aircraft at Ben Gurion. On July 8, Regev said the airport was operating normally and that refuelers were continuing to leave. On June 25, The Zioneer reported that 20 US aircraft had been evacuated, with 12 more expected to leave by end of month. The current figure of 20 refuelers, if confirmed, would represent a significant portion of the US aerial logistics footprint in the region.
The new count is based on a single report and has not been independently confirmed. It remains unclear whether the 20 figure reflects the current number on the ground after the morning's directives or is a separate estimate. The source has not been identified on the record.
11 developments
Source and signal
- Open-source intake