Jerusalem: The first two flights bringing home Israelis stranded abroad by the Middle East war landed in Tel Aviv on Thursday, after the airspace was closed as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

The repatriation flights landed at Ben Gurion Airport, which for now remains closed for commercial traffic.

A first flight operated by the Israeli national carrier El Al arrived from Athens, and a second operated by Israir arrived from Rome, the transport ministry announced. Each carried 170 passengers.

Transport Minister Miri Regev had said earlier in the week that Israel's airspace would "gradually" reopen overnight between Wednesday and Thursday. It nevertheless remains closed to commercial traffic.

Israel shut its airspace to civilian flights on Saturday after announcing the launch of a campaign of strikes against Iran together with the United States.

"We are doing everything possible to bring every Israeli home safely," Regev was quoted as saying in a statement.

On Thursday, Regev also announced that Israeli authorities had decided to allow some outgoing flights from Sunday, depending on security conditions.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it launched missiles at dawn on Thursday targeting Ben Gurion Airport, according to a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency.

It was unclear if any missiles reached the airport.

AFP