The Biden administration announced it will arrange charter flights out of the Israeli war zone to sites in Europe for U.S. citizens, starting Friday. The State Department is working on whether the flights will be free. And Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday said he spoke to United Airlines CEO who promised, “United will add two additional flights in the coming days from Athens to Newark International.”
Governments from several nations, including Germany and France have sent planes to airlift their citizens out of the war zone. But the U.S. had not offered an airlift for Americans, following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack. That left thousands of families lined up at airports in Israel, as the war intensified. Most major airlines canceled flights in and out of Israeli airports.
“They don’t have a roof over their heads, they’re sleeping on the floor of the airport,” said a furious Duvi Honig of Lakewood. The New Jersey resident and his family caught a last-minute flight out on Turkish Airlines, the day before it also suspended operations.
The announcement of a belated U.S. airlift comes as civilians scramble to evacuate the war zone. Israeli Defense Forces are massing at the border with Gaza, as bombardment there continues unabated in retaliation for the Hamas attack. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be meeting with different Arab states to discuss possible safe passage for civilians to leave Gaza.
Palestinians in New Jersey get intermittent calls from their families in Gaza who report they’re completely cut off without food, water or electricity and fleeing their homes. “It’s civilians all over Gaza are being targeted right now, and not a single person feels safe,” says Verona resident Amjad Abukwaik.
Abukwaik is grieving his cousin and her four young children, who died in one attack in Gaza. He says he doesn’t condone violence against anyone, but he calls the Gaza blockade and attack “a massacre of 2.3 million people, okay? Whatever happened on Oct. 7th, nothing justifies, nothing you can tell me or can convince me to justify what’s happening right now. Every minute, people are being killed. Not just my family. Everybody else’s family.”
The Hamas attack claimed another former New Jersey resident: Laor Abramov. His parents confirmed the death on Facebook. Abramov attended the rave where Hamas gunned down hundreds of party-goers. He hid in a concrete shelter, but could not escape.
Groups are calling for negotiations and a peaceful resolution. But a former Hamas leader has called for a global “Day of Anger” on Friday, and security around the New York metro area is on high alert.
