Bipartisan group of lawmakers urges Biden to evacuate Americans trapped in Israel

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 12, 2023 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

As airlines cancel flights to and from Israel, several Republicans and Democrats in Congress are strongly urging President Joe Biden to immediately evacuate all Americans in the war-torn country.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, said on Tuesday that he has received “many reports from constituents who are U.S. citizens currently in Israel” who “seek to return to the United States as soon as possible but are unable to do so.”

“I urged the Biden administration to stop wasting time and immediately secure the evacuation of U.S. citizens who are stranded in Israel,” Smith said in a statement.

A bipartisan group of representatives also called on the State Department in a letter Tuesday to help bring those trapped back to the U.S.

Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Illinois, was among the 12 signers of the letter urging the Biden administration to “use all resources at its disposal, including charter flights, to help those Americans that remain in Israel and wish to return to the United States.”

She posted on X that her office is “in touch with constituents in Israel and we’re doing all we can to get them home safely.”

While some airlines are still operating flights out of Israel, U.S. air carriers have ceased service to the country until at least the end of the month, according to Politico.

Smith noted that “many other countries,” including Poland, Romania, and Mexico, have already successfully evacuated “thousands of their own citizens.”

“The Biden administration must act swiftly to catch up for lost time and work around the clock to bring these Americans home,” Smith said in his statement. “The dangers they face are so grave, and the responsibility of the U.S. government for their safety so paramount, that their evacuation must be secured now.”

It is uncertain how many Americans are currently in Israel, but the death toll of U.S. citizens in the country continues to rise.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that 25 Americans have been confirmed dead so far in a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

It is also believed that several Americans have been kidnapped and are being held hostage by Hamas terrorists.

According to Smith, the Biden administration told him on Wednesday that it has “plans” for “departure assistance” in the coming days.

While noting that some commercial flights out of Israel remain an option, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a Wednesday White House press briefing that the State Department is in contact with Americans in Israel and is “exploring actively a range of other options to assist if Americans want to leave.”

Kirby also said the American death toll in Israel is likely to rise.

“I think we all need to steel ourselves for the very real possibility that these numbers will keep increasing and that we find out that in fact more Americans are part of the hostage pool,” Kirby said.