Tel Aviv flight passengers recount harrowing moments during mid-air attack
An image from a video circulating online taken by a passenger inside a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv that was diverted to Saudi Arabia, Sept. 30, 2026, after an incident took place inside the cockpit. (Obtained by ABC News)
Passengers aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 expressed fear, anger and ultimately elation after they survived what Israeli officials said was an attempted terror attack thousands of feet in the air on Wednesday.
After the passengers, many of whom were Israeli citizens, returned to Tel Aviv following the ordeal, many said they were still bewildered over what transpired during their flight from Dubai.
The plane’s first officer allegedly stabbed the plane’s captain and then made the plane descend rapidly, Israeli officials said, with passengers saying they felt the impact almost immediately.
“I guess usually there’s like some turbulence and you feel like whoa, but then it like evens out pretty quickly, and here it wasn’t like that,” Mika Bauman, who was aboard the flight told ABC News. “It was…like chaos screaming and just the crazy drop. Like you look at the ground and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m going that way right now.'”
Another passenger, who identified herself as Miram, told Israeli media that things got scary when passengers heard the screams coming from the cockpit and saw the bloody pilot.
“We felt like we were, like, going to crash. I was already screaming [the Jewish prayer] ‘Shema Israel’ and saying, ‘I can’t die, I’m my only daughter, I can’t do this to my mother,’ the woman added.
Israeli officials said that some of the passengers worked together to subdue the suspect while another flight crew member was able to take back the plane.
“Here was a crazy man with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We jumped and helped the pilot. Friends, everything is OK now, as you can see we are landing in Saudi Arabia, you can see I am fine. That’s it,” passenger Itzhak Liber said in a Hebrew language selfie video posted to Facebook after the incident was over.
The jet was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where the injured pilot was taken to the hospital and the passengers were repatriated later in the day. The unidentified suspect remains in custody and the investigation is ongoing.
When the repatriation flight landed in Tel Aviv later, the passengers arrived to a warm welcome.
“It feels amazing in that it’ll probably take me a little while to get on the plane again. But I’m honestly just thanking God that I’m here right now because it was so close to not happening based on the whole situation that we were just in,” Bauman said after she landed in Israel.
A protestor throws a rock at Police vehicles on Sandy Row on June 9, 2026 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
(BELFAST, Northern Ireland) — Extra officers from the U.K. are being deployed to Northern Ireland on Thursday following another night of violent unrest over an alleged knife attack by an immigrant suspect.
Scotland will send 90 officers to Northern Ireland to support an additional 200 officers from across the U.K. that were deployed to the region after protesters allegedly set fire to cars, properties and other outdoor objects, pelted cops with projectiles and harassed immigrant healthcare workers on Wednesday, according to investigators and local leaders.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said Thursday that 16 people have been arrested this week in connection with the back-to-back nightly protests in Belfast and other towns. They are looking for more suspects connected to the violent demonstrations.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson told reporters that 12 officers were injured during Wednesday night’s incidents, including some who were allegedly struck by Molotov cocktails and other projectiles.
Officers had to use a water cannon to disperse some of the crowds.
“Our communities in Northern Ireland deserve to get their lives back to normal. Yesterday, businesses shut their doors, trains were not running and we saw schools closing early due to fear. This is the impact these thugs are having,” he said.
As the destruction and chaos continued on the streets, the family of the victim of Monday’s stabbing attack at the center of the riots pleaded for calmness and tolerance.
The family of Stephen Ogilvie, who is in stable condition following the attack, released a statement Wednesday saying they were “feeling disgusted” by the images of the violent protests.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that to do this in response is not supported by our family, and peaceful protest is only ever the way forward,” the family said.
A Sudanese immigrant allegedly attacked Ogilvie with a knife around 10:30 p.m. Monday near Kinnaird Avenue before he was subdued by nearby pedestrians and arrested by the police.
The victim “suffered serious injuries to his eyes and slash-wound injuries to his back and face,” police said.
The 30-year-old suspect was charged with attempted murder, possession of an article with blade or point in a public place and threats to kill. The investigation is ongoing.
The protests that have broken out since the attack have been pushing anti-immigrant rhetoric and have caused disturbances across Northern Ireland, according to the police.
In one incident on Wednesday, 20 masked protesters allegedly blocked the road and threw projectiles at officers and in another incident in Portadown, demonstrators attacked a property for hours, according to PSNI.
During the demonstrations, some protesters allegedly harassed immigrant healthcare workers who were on their way to and from their work, according to police.
UNISON Northern Ireland, the union representing healthcare workers, said in a statement it had received reports this week of workers being followed, stopped by people to check their identities and intimidated in their homes.
“They are care workers, nurses, classroom assistants and a host of other occupations delivering key public services. They are here because our government and public services invited them to fill the critical shortages in these vital services. The hypocrisy of those behind the hate campaign is stunning,” UNISON said in a statement Wednesday.
Henderson said he was meeting with UNISON members on Thursday and also shared his support for the healthcare workers.
“They are the backbone of our public service. They are caring for our family, friends and loved ones in our communities. We are here to support them. In the same way they support us,” he said.
Ogilvie’s family also expressed support for Northern Ireland’s immigrants and healthcare workers.
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including from within our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility — do not do this in the name of our loved one as we do not share the same values,” they said.
Outside of the unrest on the streets, police have also been working to combat a flood of misinformation about the knife attack and protests circulating on social media sites that are being promoted by anti-immigrant groups and figures.
Ogilvie’s family also condemned those who spread misinformation about the attack and protests.
“If you know anything at all about the attack, or saw anything strange near Kinnaird Avenue, please go to the police and stop sharing false information on social media, as it is deeply distressing,” they said.
Henderson urged the public to heed the family’s request.
“They could not be more clear that violence is not in Stephen’s name,” he said.
This photograph shows an explosion during drone and missile attacks in Kyiv on June 2, 2026, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Russian missile and drone barrages rocked parts of Ukraine overnight, killing four and wounding dozens, officials said on June 2, the latest attacks in a war with no end in sight. (Photo by Eugene KOTENKO / AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least 17 people were killed and more than 100 people injured in a large-scale overnight Russian missile and drone strike on Ukraine, officials said, with the capital Kyiv the main target of Moscow’s latest long-range barrage.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that the most significant damage was wrought in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions. At least six people were killed in Kyiv and 11 people — including a child — were killed in Dnipro, local Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones into the country, of which 40 missiles and 602 drones were intercepted or suppressed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack constituted “a completely transparent statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue.”
“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defense so that this war can finally end. And we urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for the Patriot systems. We count on the support of our partners and on effective responses to today’s attack,” the president wrote in a post to social media.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that among the buildings damaged by the “large-scale attack” were four medical facilities.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, said in a post to X that the most serious damage in Kyiv was reported in the Podilskyi district, where a Russian strike collapsed a nine-story residential building. “People may still be trapped under the rubble,” Stefanchuk wrote.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X that Russia’s latest “horrific attack” showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror.”
“Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” Sybiha wrote. “What we can change is Russia’s ability to continue terror. I urge partners to act, not only condemn.”
The foreign minister called on Ukraine’s foreign backers to unlock more European funding for NATO’s PURL program through which Kyiv can obtain more American weapons and ammunition, including anti-missile defenses like the Patriot system.
Sybiha also urged partners to increase investment in Ukraine’s own long-range capabilities, “ramp up pressure on Russia through new sanctions” and advance Ukraine’s European Union membership negotiations.
“Peace efforts will only succeed when they are backed with real pressure on Moscow,” Sybiha said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its forces “launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, land and sea-based weapons, including hypersonic aeroballistic missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
The strike, it said, targeted “military-industrial,” fuel and transport facilities and military bases in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions. “The targets of the strike have been achieved, all designated objects have been hit,” the ministry claimed.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said it shot down at least 148 Ukrainian drones overnight into Tuesday morning.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced temporary flight restrictions at airports in Volgograd, Kaluga, Saratov, Krasnodar and Penza during the overnight Ukrainian attacks.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Yulia Drozd and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
In this Aug. 20, 2021, file photo provided by the U.S. Army, combat medic Sgt. Wyatt Ryser with the 811th Hospital Center gives a Covid-19 briefing to an Afghan family at Camp As Sayliyah in Doha, Qatar. The U.S. military is providing meals, water, and snacks to immigration applicants seeking relocation to the U.S. Jimmie Baker/U.S. Army via Getty Images, FILE
(QATAR) — Her room is made up of four towering gray walls. With a rug, a colorful comforter and a few pictures, 15-year-old Zahra Muheb has tried to make it feel like home. She’s spent her last two birthdays living at Camp As Sayliyah, a refugee camp on an unused American military base in Doha that’s a temporary home for more than 1,100 Afghan refugees.
Most of its residents are women and children who were placed there by the U.S. State Department during the U.S. refugee resettlement process.
Zahra told ABC News her dreams for the future have changed drastically since President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting refugee resettlement efforts during the first days of his second term. She said the ripple effects have been felt throughout every corner of the camp.
“I mean, when you go out of the camp and you’re sick, they take you to hospital and they put GPS trackers on you so that you cannot escape,” she said. “I feel like prison might be much better than here.”
Zahra also told ABC News that she was threatened by the camp duty director and other camp officials after speaking to news outlets.
She claimed that they said someone in Washington, D.C., asked them to talk to her, then turned to her parents and said, “What you allow your daughter [to do] has significantly increased the risk of going back to Afghanistan.”
In response to Zahra’s specific claims, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, “We have no information regarding this alleged incident” and that “accusations are dealt with promptly to protect residents.”
The fear of being sent back to Afghanistan is intense for many refugees at the base, she noted.
Zahra told ABC News camp officials are using that fear and not knowing where they will be placed against residents at the base.
“They are lying to people about [being sent to a] third country,” she said. “They are encouraging people to go back to Afghanistan, paying them money.”
Zahra’s family was already vetted by the Biden administration, but they and many other camp residents remain in limbo, waiting to see where and when the U.S. State Department will relocate them.
“The State Department continues to work toward a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people,” a department spokesperson told ABC News.
In response to the possibility of being sent to the DRC, Zahra said she wanted to address Trump directly, saying the idea was “not even acceptable.”
“Mr. Donald Trump and Mrs. Melania reconsider [to] at least take us to America because we deserve safety. We deserve a life with dignity,” she told ABC News.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration raised the refugee ceiling by 10,000 solely for white South African refugees despite the promises the U.S. previously made to those residing at Camp As Sayliyah.
On June 2, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s fiscal year 2027 budget, lawmakers pushed back against these new policies.
Democratic Sen. Van Hollen of Maryland told Republican Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “this administration has capped refugees at a record low” and that “White South Africans, Afrikaners, have comprised roughly 99% of those slots.” He called the administration’s process a “race-based refugee system.”
Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, denounced the notion of sending Afghan allies living at Camp As Sayliyah back to Afghanistan, which is controlled by the Taliban, or the DRC, which has seen a surge of sexual violence towards women and children in recent years amid the conflict that has raged since 2022.
In response, Rubio noted that the U.S. “can’t admit any Afghans at this point into the country,” due to an executive order in the wake of last November’s deadly attack on two members of the National Guard last November.
“I don’t know of any single country that’s going to take a thousand people, but we’ve talked to multiple countries about taking several hundred of these people and allowing them to move to a safe location,” he said.
The residents we spoke to told ABC News they feel left behind, including a father who served as a member of the Afghan Command Forces for the U.S. and asked ABC News not to use his name for fear of retaliation.
“In reality, we were brought here legally and we completed all legal processes,” he said. “We stood side by side with the United States in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. Now the time has come for the U.S. government to fulfill their promises.”
Shawn VanDiver, the president of AfghanEvac, a non-profit organization that advocates for Afghan refugees, arranged a call with residents, congressional staffers and politicians in April.
“We’re gonna keep fighting for you, there’s a lot of people in Congress that are gonna keep fighting for you,” he told the residents.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, joined the call to relay what his son, who served in Afghanistan as a Marine Corps infantry officer, told him about the Afghan allies “who put their lives on the line.”
“They love America. We will work for them and fight for them just as we would our own veterans,” he said.
In a previous statement, the U.S. State Department told ABC News in March that “Afghan Nationals at the Camp do not currently have a viable pathway to the United States” and that residents would be relocated by March 31. In June, ABC News spoke with several residents who still do not know where or when they will be relocated, if at all.
“There was a viable pathway, the administration has chosen to close it — it is a policy choice,” VanDiver told ABC News.
For now, residents at the camp hope the U.S. will keep its original promise to bring them to the country to start a new life.
Zahra asked ABC News to use her name, hoping it will help her resettlement efforts and others at the camp who are afraid of being sent to countries in conflict like DRC.
“I’m showing my face and I am raising my voice. To the camp officials from here … you cannot stop me,” she said. “Whatever you do, it won’t stop me. If you think that you can treat me [like this] and it will stop me, it cannot. I will fight. I will take those people to safety. I will try.”
On Thursday, 83 members of Congress signed a letter to Rubio, demanding a clear plan for residents at Camp As Sayliyah, shortly after Zahra’s story aired on ABC News on Tuesday. In the letter, congressional leaders gave the department until June 24 to respond with answers and a credible plan for refugees who have been living in limbo.
