The State Department finally announced Thursday it would begin helping U.S. citizens evacuate Israel, starting Friday, Oct. 13, almost a full week after Hamas’ terror attack that killed at least 25 Americans and 1,200 Israelis, injured thousands of others, and took more than 100 civilians captive in Gaza.
“The U.S. government will arrange charter flights to assist U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have been unable to book commercial transit and seek a safe means of departing Israel,” the statement said.
“From these locations, individuals will be able to make their own onward travel arrangements to the destination of their choice,” it continued, noting that the government expects “thousands of U.S. citizens” to utilize these travel options.
INBOX: State Dept to run evacuations out of Israel: "The U.S. government will arrange charter flights to assist U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have been unable to book commercial transit and seek a safe means of departing Israel." pic.twitter.com/jIRixEUEX5
— Adam Kredo (@Kredo0) October 12, 2023
The announcement comes after Spain, Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Romania, South Korea, Portugal, Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Fiji, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand all sent planes to evacuate their citizens.
After major airlines suspended their operations out of the country, “panicked” Americans flooded their representatives in Congress with calls for help and many others reached out to nonprofits such as Project Dynamo, that assist in rescuing stranded Americans.
At least one U.S. lawmaker, GOP Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, immediately jumped into action and traveled to Israel to help his constituents safely depart the war zone, marking the second time he did President Biden's job for him.