Ethiopian Jews flown to Israel in latest operation

The arrivals, from the Falash Mura community, are the first of several thousand waiting to emigrate to Israel. They are related to Ethiopian Jews brought to Israel decades ago in a series of secret operations.

In recent weeks bitter fighting between the Ethiopian government and local forces in the Tigray region threatened to spread south to Gondar city, where most of the Jews are now housed.

This led to calls from campaigners in Israel and Ethiopia for the immigration process to be sped up.

The issue had dragged on because of questions about the eligibility of many of the immigrants to move to Israel.

The Falash Mura are descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity - often under duress - in the late 19th Century.

In recent decades they have identified as Jewish again.

In 2015 the Israeli government pledged to bring the entire community to the country by 2020.