During an interview with NewsNation aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Hill,” White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated that America isn’t behind nations that have already evacuated people from Israel or announced evacuation flights because, “We have been exploring options and continue to do that.”
Kirby said, “Well, a couple of things here: First of all, commercial flights are still going in and out of Ben Gurion Airport. So, that’s always an option for those who may want to leave. There are still some viable ground routes. And we’re exploring many other options as well to see if there [are] other things that we could do to help Americans who want to leave. There are many Americans who live and work in Israel. For many of them, it’s home, and they don’t want to leave. So, we are mindful, though, that there could be some who, using the commercial options or the ground route options are either not feasible or affordable. And so, we are actively exploring other options.”
Host Blake Burman then asked, “I hear you actively exploring and that there [are] commercial and ground options, John. But Fiji, Hungary, and South Korea have already used airlines to evacuate people out. Canada and Germany have announced evacuation flights in the coming days. So, how is it that we are seemingly behind several countries on this front?”
Kirby responded, “I think I would take issue with you that we’re behind anybody here. We have been exploring options and continue to do that. And I would just say, stay tuned. I think we’ll have more to say very soon about what some of those options are going to look like.”
Kirby also stated that they are talking to airlines about options to get Americans out of Israel.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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