Americans fleeing Israel arrive at Newark Airport: 'It’s very, very scary'
One of the first charter flights from a Middle East suddenly thrown into war arrived in the United States late Friday night at Newark Liberty International Airport, carrying Israeli American citizens harrowed from their tumultuous journey but relieved to be away from the escalating conflict.
On the morning of Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Israel by land, air and sea — killing more than 1,300 people, including 27 Americans, and kidnapping more than 100 hostages, some of them grandmothers, teenagers and young children.
So far, about 1,800 Palestinians were reported killed in Gaza and another 7,400 wounded after Israel retaliated with a sustained bombing attack.
Israel on Friday gave an order that 1.1 million Palestinians evacuate northern Gaza, and bombing continues to level neighborhoods. Hundreds of American citizens are reportedly trapped in Gaza, including residents of New Jersey. Many say the U.S. has abandoned them and their pleas for help.
Jeff Eliah, of Florida, and his wife were among the lucky ones. They had been in Israel for a wedding, staying in the town of Jaffa, when they heard the sounds of bombing and were advised not to leave their hotel room.
Eliah said he had to undertake a complex flight itinerary that took him from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Cyprus, then Athens, and finally to Newark.
“It was crazy. But we got very lucky," Eliah said. "We got the first flight out to Cyprus. A couple of other flights were canceled, and one flight that we had was a scam.”
Despite these extensive efforts to reach safety, he is still not home. His next destination is Florida.
Among the arrivals in Newark was a woman named Irit, who was so scared that she didn't want to reveal her last name. She said she left her husband behind in southern Israel and brought her children to the safety of a relative's house in New Jersey.
“We are visiting for a week or two, just waiting. I don't think it’ll be over, but just to relax, and it will be safer for the kids,” she said. “The situation in Israel is not something I’m familiar with. It’s very very hard and it’s very, very scary.”
Her husband, she said, chose to remain in their homeland with the possibility of joining the military to defend the nation.
The Israeli military called up more than 300,000 reservists in response to the Hamas attack, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his country to brace for a long war after the most shocking infiltration of the Jewish state in a half-century.
In Gaza, the situation is only worsening. Israel has banned deliveries of food, fuel, water and medical supplies to the strip. International authorities say that is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in an area home to 2.3 million people, most of whom are refugees.
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Many people arriving Friday night declined to speak to the press, some saying they feared for their safety. One man said he had been advised not to speak to anyone.
Jewish Americans were already on high alert even before Hamas' attack last weekend. The Anti-Defamation League said earlier this year that reports of antisemitic incidents — fueled by social media and a rise in political polarization — were at the highest levels the group had seen since it began tracking the data in 1979. New Jersey has one of the world's largest Jewish populations.
The U.S. government said it will provide charter flights for American citizens and their immediate families looking to leave Israel. U.S. citizens in Israel in need of assistance should complete the crisis intake form at travel.state.gov.
“The State Department will continue to organize these charter flights for as long as there is a demand from U.S. citizens for departure assistance,” said John Kirby, a White House spokesman on national security matters.
This article contains material from USA Today writer Joey Garrison.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Americans fleeing Israel arrive at Newark Liberty Airport
