New Yorkers who have been stuck in Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas are getting help to leave the country.
The U.S. State Department is chartering flights for U.S. citizens out of Ben Gurion Airport, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, to Athens and Frankfurt, Germany, the office of U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., announced.
“Domestic airline carriers like Delta, United Airlines or American airlines have been flagged with this information so that they can surge service to these airports and assist Americans in their travel from those points onward,” Simone Kanter, Goldman’s communications director, told Gothamist.
Many airlines suspended travel to and from Israel, leaving thousands stranded. Kanter said repatriating them is “an incredibly complex effort” and directed constituents who are in Israel or who have family members there to get in touch with Goldman’s office.
So far, Kanter said, an estimated 200 constituents have contacted the office, while at least a thousand district residents remain stranded in Israel.
USA Today and Reuters reported Friday afternoon that the State Department’s first charter flight taking Americans out of Israel had already landed in Athens, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether any New Yorkers were on board.
There are no current U.S. plans to evacuate Americans stranded in Gaza, amid the devastating violence. A National Security Council official told reporters Israel's blockade in the territory still prevents the U.S. from intervening.
John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said negotiations continue to create a "safe harbor" for those looking to flee Gaza.
“So, we would have no physical means of permitting that transit out,” Kirby said. “And so, that’s why we’re so actively having conversations with the Israelis and the Egyptians about a safe passage corridor so that people who want to leave can leave.”
On its website, the State Department directs travelers to a crisis intake form, online, where they’re given the option of choosing Gaza, Israel or a third box, “I do not see what I'm looking for.”
“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,” the site reads.
Kanter said travelers awaiting a flight out of Israel would be contacted by the State Department, along with instructions on how to reach Ben Gurion Airport.
“People should stay tuned to their phones every six to eight hours and check their email because the State Department is going to move fast on this,” Kanter said.
In an interview with Gothamist, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said 10 of his upper Manhattan constituents were expected to fly out on Saturday. The group of travelers are members of the International Missionary Commission Narrow Door Pentecostal Church and were on an excursion to Jerusalem when the Hamas attacks occurred.
“Last night they were able to get hotel rooms near the airport,” Espaillat said.
Dov Cohen, the chief of staff to Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein, D-Brooklyn, said his office has been besieged by people whose relatives cannot return to the U.S.
“The phones were ringing off the hook, and people were just showing up in the office, giving us their families’ information,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he was in the same predicament a few days ago, having traveled to Israel for the Jewish holidays, only to find himself without any way to leave the country. He finally secured tickets for his family of eight on a chartered flight, paying $20,000 in total for the one-way tickets.
“People were willing to pay anything to get out,” said Cohen. “When I got to the airport, it was bedlam.”
Assistant Producer Elizabeth Shwe contributed to this article.
