According to a report from The Washington Post, the Biden Administration is making preparations for a mass evacuation of U.S. citizens from the Middle East if the war in Gaza escalates.
From The Washington Post:
The specter of such an operation comes as Israeli forces, aided by U.S. weapons and military advisers, prepare for what is widely expected to be a perilous ground offensive against Hamas militants responsible for the stunning cross-border attack that has reignited hostilities. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail internal deliberations, said Americans living in Israel and neighboring Lebanon are of particular concern, though they stressed that an evacuation of that magnitude is considered a worst-case scenario and that other outcomes are seen as more likely.
Still, one official said, it “would be irresponsible not to have a plan for everything.”
What a ground war in Gaza could look like
The administration, despite its forceful public support for Israel, is deeply alarmed by the prospect of escalation, and in recent days it has turned its attention in part to the complicated logistics of abruptly having to relocate a large number of people, according to three people familiar with the discussions. There were about 600,000 U.S. citizens in Israel and another 86,000 believed to be in Lebanon when Hamas attacked, according to State Department estimates.
“This has become a real issue,” one official said. “The administration is very, very, very worried that this thing is going to get out of hand.”
“The street to a large extent is now in charge,” said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former official in the Clinton administration.
“We were told for the last 10 years that the Arab world and Muslim world didn’t care about Palestine anymore, and Abraham Accords were proof of that,” Riedel added, referring to agreements, signed by the governments of Sudan, Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, aimed at normalizing relations with Israel. “Well, Palestine has come back. I don’t think it ever went away.”
More over at WaPo:
Biden administration readies plans for mass evacuations if Gaza war escalates. Will they also demand the Gaza evacuees pay their way and dump them in Egypt? It was left to Gov. Ron DeSantis to evacuate Floridians from Israel after the Hamas attacks https://t.co/Miq2i6wTiT
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) October 24, 2023
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