WASHINGTON, DC – Forty-six members of a California-based religious group trapped in Israel with no way home are pleading with the Biden administration to intervene and help them return.
The group is making a desperate plea after major airlines canceled almost all flights out of the country since the Hamas attack on Saturday.
As U.S. officials warn that the conflict could last weeks, if not months, the Holy Land tour group Impact Bible Fellowship in Riverside, California, is pleading with the State Department to charter flights to help evacuate Americans from Israel. .
“They need to start getting the Americans out,” said Silver Prout, one of 46 American citizens trapped in Israel. “Where is the State Department?”
While other nations – including Germany, Hungary and Mexico – have organized charter flights to pick up their citizens stranded in Israel, the State Department had no plans to do so as of Tuesday night.
Forty-six members of a California-based religious group trapped in Israel with no way home are pleading with the Biden administration to intervene and help them return. “They need to start getting the Americans out,” said Silver Prout, one of 46 American citizens trapped in Israel. “Where is the State Department?”
When asked about its efforts to help U.S. citizens escape, a department representative told The Post that U.S. citizens in Israel should “check with airlines for flight availability and flight status.”
“Ben Gurion International Airport [in Tel Aviv] remains open, but some flights have been reduced or suspended,” the representative said. “The airport website also has information on flight status and airport status.”
But about half of the airport’s outbound flights had been canceled as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, and others were currently “delayed,” according to the website.
“American citizens are reminded to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness, as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire, often occur without warning,” the representative said, warning and Americans to be cautious if they consider leaving the country early. car.
Follow the Post’s coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas
“The security situation remains dynamic,” the representative said. “The Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza is closed until further notice, and US citizens in Gaza who wish to leave and can do so safely are advised to check the status of the Rafah crossing into Egypt.”
The group landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for a 10-day tour of the Holy Land. While they spent the first few days visiting religious sites, panic set in about 20 minutes into their bus ride for another excursion on Saturday, when reports of atrocities in Gaza came to light.
The next day, guides from the tour company Trans-Global Travel tried to save another day of the trip and took the group to the Sea of Galilee for a religious service and a baptism in its waters, until the Israeli Ministry of Tourism called everyone . The tours ended and tourists were warned to shelter in place.
“At the end of the baptisms, I realized [something was wrong. I went up to the tour guide, and you could tell he looked very troubled,” Prout said. “So I asked him, ‘What’s really going on?’ And he said, ‘What you need to now [is] We are going back to the hotel and the airport tonight. “
The group landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for a 10-day tour of the Holy Land.
The tour company first secured Air Canada flights from Tel Aviv on Tuesday for the group, but they were later cancelled. The group was then booked a total of $18,000 in Turkish Airlines tickets to depart on Friday, but the airline suspended all flights to Israel on Tuesday.
For now, the group is in a safe location, not near the fighting in the West Bank, but Prout said he fears his fellow Americans are in more danger with each passing hour.
“The situation is only going to get worse in the coming days,” he said. “[Israeli forces] They are doing a good job of containing it, but there will be pressure from the north from Hezbollah, and then, you know, an airport is the biggest [terrorism] goal,” he said.
With nothing but a canceled plane ticket and no information from U.S. authorities about assistance, Prout said the group can now only pray for their escape.
But the California group is not alone, according to Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who co-chairs the House Israel Allies Caucus.
In a terse letter to Biden on Tuesday, Smith said he has heard from many constituents who are or have family in Israel.
“As you should know, most airlines have canceled flights out of Israel, with little information on when they will be able to resume,” he wrote. “The remaining flights are not sufficient to evacuate the large number of American citizens in Israel, and the administration should consider contracting or facilitating charter flights to bring our citizens home.
“I urge you to use all appropriate American resources and tools to organize the immediate evacuation of American citizens in Israel who are desperately trying to return home. “The dangers these American citizens face are so grave, and the American government’s responsibility for their security so paramount, that their evacuation must be the immediate top priority of the American government in Israel and the Middle East,” he added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn