ORLANDO, Fla. – Over the weekend, Florida’s governor welcomed back nearly 300 Floridians who were stuck in Israel.
“It’s one of the most complicated things we’ve ever done,” said Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of the state’s Department of Emergency Management.
Guthrie said eight people landed in Orlando and nearly 300 landed in Tampa from Israel.
This effort Guthrie said was a collective effort from the state, nonprofits, state leaders, and more, but he says there have been some challenges.
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“I think what makes this complicated is that we are trying to evacuate people that are 5,100 miles away from the United States,” Guthrie said.
In an interview with News 6, we asked what the ongoing efforts for those that are still in Israel and Gaza.
Guthrie said that he already has around 40% of his staff working around the clock looking to get results for Floridians, their families, and American citizens stuck in both Israel and Gaza.
“We are already working on an additional manifest list right now, so we are still communicating inside of Israel. We have people on the ground in Israel,” Guthrie said.
According to Guthrie, there are about 100 people already set to come to the state in two days, saying more flights are already scheduled.
As flights make their way to Florida, News 6 learned of one Rabbi from Orlando who said he is staying put in Israel.
“They are under stress, each person has to deal with this tragedy in his own way,” said Rabbi Avraham Shira, who says he knows people already starting to pack for the net flights out.
“My wife and I talked about it many times saying maybe we should go back, but not out of fear but rather from a place of where we are meant to be and where we can do the most good in the world,” Rabbi Shira said.
Local Palestinians protested over the weekend calling for a cease-fire in Israel and Gaza.
Now leaders like Rasha Mubarak are reacting to the news of flights coming back from Israel.
“Palestinians should be included in any kind of refuge, security safety plan,” Mubarak said.
Mubarak says back here in the U.S. they are working on getting their people to safety, but she tells me right now she is calling on her fellow Floridians to stand with them.
“Whether you are a lawmaker, whether you are a resident in this country, whether you are the media, if you are a person on conscious... this is your time to be brave, to be bold and to push back from anti-Palestinian, Islamic-phobic rhetoric and call on a cease-fire,” Mubarak said.
The state says there are two more flights set to come from Israel on Oct. 18.
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