Thousands of Americans fleeing the war in Israel raced to board a cruise ship Monday that would take them to neighboring Cyprus.
The US Embassy in Israel announced the evacuation plan Sunday, offering the 2,500 Americans and their immediate family members still in Israel a chance to leave by sea.
The move comes as the Israeli military is preparing for an all-out ground assault on Gaza in retaliation for last week’s deadly attacks by Hamas that killed at least 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans.
The cruise ship line Royal Caribbean stepped in to help after commercial airlines mostly stopped flying into Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, making it extremely difficult to get out of the country.
US citizens, among them babies and young children, desperate to flee the escalating hostilities in the region headed to the port city of Haifa in the early hours, hoping to score a space on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas that would whisk them to safety.
US officials in Israel on Monday began evacuating American citizens by sea aboard the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Some 2,500 Americans who found themselves stranded in Israel by war were expected to board the ship. AFP via Getty Images
The US Embassy in Israel announced the evacuation plan Sunday. AFP via Getty ImagesBoarding got underway at 8 a.m. local time and was available on a first-come, first-served basis, according to embassy officials.
Evacuee Idella Schatzberg was leaving for Cyprus with her two tots in tow. Her husband was staying behind for the time being, but hoping to rejoin the family in Dallas by Wednesday, she told ABC News.
Israel-Hamas war: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
“I’m constantly on edge, and I can’t do that to my kids,” said the mom. “I can’t let them live like this.”
The passage from Haifa to Limassol Port in Cyprus was expected to take between 10 and 12 hours, with food and internet service available to passengers on board.
Americans raced against time to leave Israel ahead an an imminent ground assault on Gaza. AFP via Getty Images
US citizens have been forced to escape by sea after most commercial airlines stopped flying into Israel’s main airport. AFP via Getty Images
Arriving in Cyprus after a 10- to 12-hour sea voyage, Americans will be able to board flights to take them home. AFP via Getty ImagesIn Cyprus, American evacuees will be able to board commercial flights to take them the rest of the way home.
The US State Department said that in addition to the ship, chartered flights from Israel will be available for American citizens on Monday and Tuesday.
