United States launches charter flights to evacuate thousands of Americans from Israel to avoid rocket attacks by Palestinian terror group Hamas
Commercial airlines will provide the planes from Friday, but Americans who want to leave will only be flown as far as Europe.
It came after Biden faced pressure to follow the lead of other nations, including the UK, which are moving their citizens home.
American officials estimate that 160,000-170,000 Americans are in Israel, as residents, tourists. or with other properties.
There will be at least four charter flights a day taking Americans out of Israel.
The US embassy in Israel said: “It will take some time to schedule everyone who wants to leave. The transport will be by air to Athens or Frankfurt or by sea from Haifa in Cyprus. You will not be able to choose your destination – we will assign you the next available flight or ferry.
“You should be ready to depart within 8-12 hours of receiving your booking notification. Each traveler can bring one small item weighing no more than 22 pounds (10 kilograms) and one suitcase weighing no more than 35 pounds (16 kilograms), according to the embassy.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said: “The president has asked his team to make sure that we help our citizens who want to leave Israel and provide them with a safe means to do so.”
The Biden administration is organizing charter flights and sea trips to ferry Americans from Israel, which continues to come under rocket fire from Hamas as it builds up forces or the border with Gaza
Kirby said the administration was still “working through the details” to help US citizens and their “immediate family members” who have been unable to find commercial transit.
He mentioned ways to expel the Americans “by land and sea.”
The announcement comes as Israel continues to come under daily rocket fire from Gaza, even as many other nations have begun flying flights to bring their people home.
American, Delta and United airlines are among the carriers that have suspended flights to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, leaving Americans and other foreign nationals scrambling to leave the country.
House Rep. Mike Lawler (RN.Y.) is among those who have pushed the administration to begin organizing airlift to bring home Americans and dual citizens who want to return to the U.S.
“You already see other governments, including Poland, sending military aircraft to evacuate their citizens from Israel because of the war. And I think we need to take all measures to help get people home as quickly as possible, both between commercial flights and between military aircraft,” he said.
President Biden faces pressure to organize airlift to remove Americans and dual citizens from Israel amid continued rocket attacks and rising death toll after Saturday’s Hamas attack
In addition to Poland, the United Kingdom, France and Germany are among the states organizing flights home.
A Portuguese C-130 military transport airlifted 160 foreign nationals to Cyprus who were trapped in Israel.
“This is going to escalate very quickly,” he told CNN. “And I stand 100 percent shoulder to shoulder with Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. They have to take out Hamas, they have to destroy it. It is a terrorist organization hellbent on wiping Israel off the face of the earth funded and supported by Iran. And we must take this threat seriously.’
At the White House on Wednesday, National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were still commercial flights and “viable ground routes out,” pointing to “action conversations” about organizing an exit.
“The State Department is actively contacting US citizens in Israel — many of whom, as you well know, are dual nationals — to try to make sure that a) we have the connection and b) that we know if they have any concerns in case they want to leave,” he said.
“I think we need to take every step to help people get home as quickly as possible,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (RN.Y.)
“Well, we are in active talks with Americans on the ground there. Right now, there are still commercial airlines – not all, some – flying in and out of Ben Gurion daily. There are still viable ground routes. If you wanted to leave Israel safely, that is also an option for you,” he said.
“But none of these options may necessarily be feasible or affordable for some Americans. And so, we are actively exploring a number of other options to help if Americans want to leave. I’m just not at liberty now to go into more detail about it.
The administration has yet to set aside plans to activate the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, where the Pentagon organizes private air carriers to bring Americans home during a security crisis. The program was used during the frantic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Americans remain trapped in Gaza as Israel has amassed a reserve force of 300,000 on the border amid a possible ground invasion.
The administration says it is working to create a possible humanitarian corridor that would allow civilians to leave, but there are huge logistical challenges.
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