Blaze Media employee's husband still stuck in Israel as US government finally announces plan to help evacuate stranded Americans



As Israel wages war in response to heinous Hamas terror attacks that left many dead, some American citizens, including Blaze Media employee Ashton DeGroot's husband and brother-in-law, have been stuck in the Jewish state.

But on Thursday, the U.S. government finally announced plans to help facilitate the evacuation of people stranded in Israel.

DeGroot provided TheBlaze with a copy of a State Department email that her husband received regarding the plans.

"We are writing to update you on U.S. government assistance to depart Israel. We plan to offer transit options beginning on Friday, October 13, but it will take some period of time to schedule everyone seeking to depart. If you choose to take this departure assistance, transportation will be by air to Athens or Frankfurt, or sea from Haifa to Cyprus. You will not be able to choose your destination – we will assign you to the next available flight or ship," the email reads.

"You will be asked to sign an agreement to repay the U.S. government prior to departure. You should be prepared to arrange your own lodging and onward travel from Greece, Germany or Cyprus to your final destination," the email states.

NSC coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said during a press briefing on Thursday that it is known that 27 Americans have been killed and 14 are unaccounted for.

"Starting Friday, October 13, the U.S. government will arrange charter flights to assist U.S. citizens and their immediate family members who have been unable to book commercial transit and seek a safe means of departing Israel. From these locations, individuals will be able to make their own onward travel arrangements to the destination of their choice. These initial transportation options will be augmented in the coming days," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

But even before the government's announcement, people had already been filling the vacuum by helping Americans evacuate.

Save Our Allies, a group that was founded during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, has been helping evacuate Americans from Israel, the group's president and founder Tim Kennedy, who is currently a master sergeant with the U.S. Army Special Forces, told TheBlaze.

Kennedy said that in addition to evacuating people from Israel, Save Our Allies is also working to fly medical supplies into the country.

"Hamas is evil," Kennedy said. "Hamas wants all Jews dead."

Hamas has committed atrocities. "Hamas terrorists bound, burned, and executed children," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Netanyahu has also said that there were kidnappings, including of children, that families were "wiped out in their beds" and that women were "brutally raped" and killed.

Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida has also been helping evacuate people out of Israel.

"If Biden and his administration won't prioritize American lives then I will step up and do his job for him! 77 Americans in 2 days safe and no longer trapped in Israel while Biden thinks of a plan," Mills tweeted. "This is the second country (Afghanistan 2021 & Israel 2023) we've had to save Americans because Biden had no plan and No leadership! This never happened under President Trump!"

— (@)

Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle had been pressuring the government to take action to help get Americans out of Israel.

"Since Hamas' indiscriminate attack on Israel Saturday morning, our offices have received harrowing reports from constituents who remain in Israel and are seeking to return to the United States as soon as possible," read an October 10 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that was signed by a bipartisan group of more than 100 lawmakers. They called for "the State Department to use all resources at its disposal, including charter flights, to help those Americans that remain in Israel and wish to return to the United States."

Israel at War - Day 5 update www.youtube.com

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Iran debuts a new 'Khaibar-buster' missile that can reportedly strike Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East



Iran has just unveiled a new missile that can strike targets in Israel and American military bases in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, the Iranian government debuted its new solid-fuel missile on state television. The missile has a range of 1,450 kilometers — roughly 900 miles — and is called the Khaibar-buster.

Khaibar was an ancient Jewish palace that was overrun by Muslim armies under the leadership of Muhammad in the early days of Islamic expansion.

The Khaibar-buster is manufactured completely domestically in Iran and, per the Times of Israel, may be able to circumvent sophisticated missile defense systems.

Iran debuted its new missile as the United States continues to re-negotiate the 2015 nuclear agreement. Iran has long claimed that it does not wish to develop nuclear weapons and insists that its missile development programs are simply a deterrent.

The IRGC unveils the Kheibar shekan, a new surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1450 kilometers. https://twitter.com/pandagulu/status/1490744344831221762\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/Gmn1ohfDxE
— Yossi Mansharof (@Yossi Mansharof) 1644396897

Iran isn’t able to launch the Khaibar-buster at intercontinental targets, but the new missile is able to reach American military bases in the Middle East.

Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff for the Iranian armed forces, described the Khaibar-buster as a “long-range missile” and said that “the enemies of the Revolution and the Islamic Republic do not understand anything but the language of power and force.”

Iranian leadership is dedicated to wiping the Jewish state of Israel off the map. Ayatollah Khamenei has even referred to the “Zionist regime” as a “long-lasting virus.”

Some argue that the Zionist regime is a reality that the region must come to terms with. Today the #Covid_19 is a reality; should it be accepted or fought?!\nThe long-lasting virus of Zionism will be uprooted thanks to the determination and faith of the youth. #Covid1948
— Khamenei.ir (@Khamenei.ir) 1590136492

Iran’s aggressiveness towards and perpetual harassment of Israel have led to the Jewish state hastening the development of new missile defense systems. Israel is 620 miles away from Iran, well within the Khaibar-buster’s range. This missile is capable of reaching targets deep inside Israel.

This past January, Iran successfully tested a solid-fuel rocket engine that is allegedly designed to launch satellites into orbit. According to an Iranian spokesperson, via Reuters, this rocket launched research devices into space at an “altitude of 470 km (290 miles) and at a speed of 7,350 meters per second.”

Satellite rocket engines are usually powered with liquid fuel, and pure solid-fuel rockets are typically associated with ballistic missile systems, so the international community remains highly skeptical of Iran’s intentions.

It’s unclear whether the rocket reached orbit, but the Iranian government confirmed, “The intended research objectives of this launch were achieved.”

According to the U.S. State Department, this launch violated a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution. A State Department spokesperson said, “The United States remains concerned with Iran’s development of space launch vehicles which pose a significant proliferation concern.”

Last week, the State Department confirmed that Iran was merely weeks away from being able to fuel and power a nuclear weapon.