WASHINGTON, DC – Forty-six members of a California-based church group stuck in Israel with no way home are appealing to the Biden administration to intervene and help get them back.
The group made the desperate plea after major airlines canceled almost all flights abroad since the Hamas attack there on Saturday.
As US officials warned that the conflict could drag on for weeks if not months, the Holy Land tour group, from Impact Bible Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., appealed to the State Department to charter flights to help evacuate Americans from Israel.
“They need to start taking Americans out,” said Silver Prout, who is among 46 US citizens trapped in Israel. “Where’s the State Department?”
While other countries – including Germany, Hungary and Mexico – have arranged for chartered 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 church group stuck in Israel with no way home are appealing to the Biden administration to intervene and help get them back. “They need to start taking Americans out,” said Silver Prout, who is among 46 US citizens trapped in Israel. “Where’s the State Department?”
When asked about its efforts to help US citizens flee, a department representative told The Post that US citizens who are Israelis should “check with airlines about flight availability and flight status.”
“Ben Gurion International Airport [in Tel Aviv] remain open, but some flights have been reduced or suspended,” the representative said. “Airport websites also have information on flight status and airport status.”
But about half of the airport’s departing flights had been canceled as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, with others now “delayed,” according to the website.
“US citizens are reminded to remain vigilant and take appropriate measures to increase their security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire, often occur without warning,” the representative said, warning Americans to be cautious if considering leaving. the country ahead of the car.
Follow The Post’s coverage of Israel’s war with 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 Pass to Egypt.”
The group landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for a 10-day visit to the Holy Land. While their first few days were spent visiting religious sites, panic set in about 20 minutes into their bus ride for another tour Saturday when reports of atrocities in Gaza came out.
The next day, a guide from the tour company, Trans-Global Travel, tried to save another day of the trip, taking the group to the Sea of Galilee for a church service and a baptism in its waters – until Israel’s Ministry of Tourism asked all tours to end and warned tourists to take shelter in the place
“When we finished the baptism, I could tell [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’re going back to the hotel and heading to the airport tonight.’ “
The group landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for a 10-day visit to the Holy Land.
The tour company initially secured Air Canada flights out of Tel Aviv on Tuesday for the group, but they were later cancelled. The group then booked a total of $18,000 worth of tickets from Turkish Airlines to depart Friday – but the airline suspended all Israeli flights 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 compatriots are in danger with each passing hour.
“It’s only going to get worse in the next few days,” he said. “[Israeli forces] is doing a good job of containing it, but there will be pressure from the north from Hezbollah, and then, you know, the airport is the biggest [terrorism] target,” he said.
With only canceled plane tickets and no word from American authorities about help, Prout said the group can now only pray they 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 brief letter to Biden on Tuesday, Smith said he has heard from many constituents who are in or have family in Israel.
“As you must be aware, most airlines have canceled flights out of Israel, with little information as to when they may resume,” he wrote. “The remaining flights are insufficient to evacuate large numbers of US citizens in Israel, and the administration should consider involving or facilitating charter flights to bring our citizens home.
“I urge you to use all appropriate US resources and tools to arrange for the immediate evacuation of Americans in Israel who are desperately trying to return home. The danger these US citizens face is so serious, and the US government’s responsibility for their safety is so important, that their evacuation must be the US government’s immediate priority in Israel and the Middle East” he added.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
