U.S. Launches Evacuation Effort for Citizens Amid Israel-Hamas War

The U.S. announced it will arrange charter flights to Israel to retrieve hundreds of citizens in Israel who want to leave the country as well as Gaza as the war with Hamas rages on, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of State Spokesperson, Matt Miller, this Thursday.

The flights will head to a series of destinations, from which the people will make their own arrangements. "Senior State Department officials are actively working with airline carriers and international partners on how best to provide additional options to U.S. citizens seeking to depart Israel or conduct onward travel to the United States", reads a passage of the statement.

The announcement comes in the sixth day of the war, sparked by the deadly attacks on Israelis from the Islamic terrorist group--as classified by the U.S.--Hamas.

As of Oct. 12, National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said 27 Americans had been killed in the Israel-Hamas war and the number of Americans missing stands at 14. CNN also reported that as of Oct. 11, 13 Latin American citizens died in Israel since the beginning of the war. The most recent confirmation is from a Colombian-Israeli woman who died on Oct.11. Before her, the others who died since the war began were seven Argentines, two Peruvians, two nationals from Brazil and one from Chile. Additionally, 20 people from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay and Colombia are missing.

The U.S. Department of State announcement included a form that Americans stuck in either Gaza or Israel can fill out to contact them and arrange their return. The announcement made it clear that the return of citizens would be responded to on a real-time basis, and danger could create wait times for departure.

"We continue to monitor the situation closely and evaluate the demand from U.S. citizens for assistance in departing Israel on a real-time basis but expect these initial travel options to facilitate the safe departure of thousands of U.S. citizens per week," Miller said. "The overall security situation, availability and reliability of commercial transportation, and U.S. citizen demand will all influence the duration of this departure assistance.

As of Thursday, the Israel military said attacks from Hamas killed more than 1,200 people, while around 2,800 are wounded. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, about 1,353 Palestinians have died, and 6,049 Palestinians are injured from Israeli retaliatory strikes. Gaza's Ministry of Health also reported that its sanitary system has begun to collapse, their ICU already at capacity and dwindling resources amid an Israeli blockage.

The U.S. is far from being the only country carrying out this kind of operation. According to a recap from Reuters, various Latin American countries have already began evacuating citizens from Israel, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.