On Wednesday November 23rd the Hellenic Air Force was asked to assist in extinguishing the fires that have broken out in Israel. The mission was executed by the 383rd Squadron for Special Ops and Aeropyrosvesis with three (3) CL-415 aircrafts. All planes landed in the early hours of Thursday, November 24th at Hatzor air base, while a C-130 carrying 18 pilots (as backup crew), 14 technicians and aircraft support systems were also part of the mission to Israel.
The Greek CL-415 completed a total of 21 flights with 63.7 hours in the air, in an attempt to put out the fires in the cities of Haifa and Jerusalem.
President of Israel Mr. Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Civil Protection Mr. Gilad Erdan, the Chief of the Israeli Air Force Major General (P) Amir Ashel and the Ambassador of Greece in Israel Mr. Konstantinos Bikas visited and congratulated the Greek mission for their efforts. At the same time, the Greek crew visited the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mr. Theofilos, where they were congratulated for their fight with the fires.
On Tuesday November 29th, the Israeli government hosted a congratulatory and farewell ceremony at the Hatzor Air Base, where the Greek crew received memorial tokens of gratitude by the Minister of Civil Protection.
