A client evacuation from Israel following the 7th October attacks

Service: Journey Management

Location: Israel

The client: A large oil field-providing company operating in Israel.

Control Risks worked with a client to safely evacuate an employee from Israel following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.

Anything but straightforward

When the militant group Hamas launched an offensive against Israel on 7 October 2023, this client was immediately concerned about the safety of an employee they had based in Be-er Sheva, Israel.

Military and police presence intensified in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Unknowns piled on unknowns. The political climate worsened. The employee, who had never been in a demanding security situation like this before, began to grow isolated and express distress about remaining in the country.

The client knew they needed to evacuate their employee – but getting from Be-er Sheva to the airport in Tel Aviv was going to be anything but straightforward. Increased security measures were in place throughout the country, including military checkpoints, road closures, and security forces. Ground travel in certain areas, particularly those near the borders with Gaza and the West Bank, were subject to increased travel restrictions and closed-off zones. Those restrictions could change at any time, limiting or even cutting off access to specific destinations. Flight schedules and airport operations hung in limbo as airlines struggled to accommodate the demand for outbound flights.

All the details

The client came to Control Risks. Working with the client, we set up a direct line of communication with the client via the client’s security team. Supported by live threat monitoring and Control Risks’ network of analysts, our local team prepared to evacuate the employee. This included reconnaissance to determine the safest routes to and from Be-er Sheva.

Through our local, vetted service provider we deployed one soft-skinned vehicle with a driver and two team members to collect the employee. While one team member briefed the employee on the plan for getting them safely to the airport, the other took charge of the employee's rental car for use as an advance security vehicle.

After reassessing their planned route based on information gathered from the journey in, the team set out with the employee during daylight hours along the planned route, taking them directly from Be’er Sheva to Tel Aviv along main highways.

At the airport, the team accompanied the employee to the departure area, staying close in a discreet position until the employee’s departure was confirmed. During this time, one of our team returned the employee’s rental vehicle to the airport rental centre.

At every step of the journey, our client knew their employee had been given reliable, expert advice. With the employee now safely on their flight home and all the details taken care of by our team, our client could rest easy.