Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) welcomed home United States citizens fleeing the war between Israel and Hamas on Sunday, saying, “There was a devoid of leadership, so we stepped up and led.”
The flight, coordinated by Project Dynamo and funded by Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, held 271 Americans, 91 of whom were children. There were also four dogs on board, according to WFLA’s Justin Schecker. DeSantis’s wife, Casey, and their son were also at the airport.
ISRAEL WAR: US TO EVACUATE STRANDED AMERICANS BY SEA AS CONFLICT ESCALATES
“We’re here in Tampa Airport,” DeSantis said in a social media video Sunday night. “We are having our first flight of people being rescued from Israel; it has landed, over 260 people that wanted to get back to the United States that couldn’t do it. There was a devoid of leadership, so we stepped up and led. We’re happy to be able to deliver. So we’re getting ready to welcome them back to the United States of America.”
The Florida governor declared a state of emergency on Thursday due to his state’s residents trapped in Israel. In the order, DeSantis slammed the Biden administration, writing, “Unlike the governments of other countries, the Biden Administration has failed to launch any form of rescue or evacuation operations for Americans, including Floridians, stranded in the region, and has failed to provide information requested by the State of Florida about any plans for such operations.”
Project Dynamo, per its website, is “a veteran-led, donor-funded, international rescue non-profit organization” headquartered in Tampa, Florida. “To date, Project DYNAMO has rescued more than 6,075 men, women, children, and babies. We have also rescued hundreds of pets from harm’s way for families who have lost everything,” the site reads.
The group has rescued Americans unable to otherwise flee from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Ukraine. Founder Bryan Stern told the Washington Examiner in the spring after a rescue from Africa that “The world is becoming a more dangerous place, and the U.S. needs to be world leaders. Firemen don’t pray for fire. … I pray for the day when we’re not busy. And I pray for the day where we can shut down.”
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More than 1,400 Israelis were killed, the vast majority of them civilians, in Hamas’s assault last Saturday, per the Associated Press, adding that at least 155 others, some of them Americans, were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip, where the militant group operates.
Israel’s response was swift and stern, sending barrages of rockets into Gaza. More than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded since the fighting erupted, the Gaza Health Ministry said. President Joe Biden has said his administration supports Israel in its efforts to eradicate Hamas and is working hard to rescue the Americans held captive.
