Early morning on June 18, 2025, a government plane carrying a total of 148 people, of which 89 were Bulgarian citizens, landed at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia. The evacuation was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the diplomatic representations of Bulgaria in Tel Aviv and Cairo. The rescue operation included a bus transfer to Egypt, followed by a flight to Bulgaria, taking a total of about 20 hours.
Among the evacuees were participants from the "Bulgarian Soul of the Holy Land" festival, who were caught in the escalating conflict in the region. The group was personally welcomed by Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev and other official representatives. This is the first large-scale evacuation mission of Bulgaria from Israel after the outbreak of instability in the area.