US, UK Evacuate Citizens As Israel Continues Bombardment Of Gaza

The United States and the United Kingdom are among the countries that have started evacuation processes of their nationals from Israel as the bombardment of Gaza continues.

Reports revealed that the US government will start arranging charter flights and passage on ships for Americans trapped in Israel.

Israel has engaged in spurring retaliatory airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, since Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities on Saturday.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Thursday that the government will begin the transport for Americans and their immediate family members on Friday,

According to a State Department notice, the charter flights will be to Athens, Greece or Frankfurt, Germany.

It stated that the voyages by sea would be from Haifa, Israel, on the Mediterranean coast, to the country of Cyprus.

“The overall security situation, availability and reliability of commercial transportation, and U.S. citizen demand will all influence the duration of this departure assistance,” Miller said.

Meanwhile, the US citizens in Gaza have not been able to move out as as the State Department said, “The US government is unable to provide routine or emergency services to US citizens in Gaza as U.S. government employees are prohibited from traveling there.”

“Hamas, a U.S. government-designated foreign terrorist organization, controls the security infrastructure in Gaza. The security environment within Gaza and on its borders is dangerous and volatile.”

In the same vein, the UK Foreign Office said the British government is in the process of arranging flights to evacuate stranded British nationals from Israel.

The first plane left Tel Aviv later on Thursday, with more set to depart in the coming days “subject to security”.

They emphasised that those eligible to leave would be contacted directly and that British nationals should not go to airports unless they are specifically told to do so.

A team of UK diplomats, trained in crisis management, has already been dispatched to Israel to assist British nationals.

In the last few days, however, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Air France, Lufthansa and Emirates have all suspended flights.

The government-arranged flights will be chartered by the Foreign Office but are commercial services, meaning that each passenger will be charged a fee of £300 (or about €347).

A number of countries have already completed flights to get people home from Israel – including France, Italy, Poland and Canada.