LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the most difficult times, some Israeli citizens living abroad do not flee the war at home, but at her. From Athens to New York, they rush to airports and jump into online chat groups for help, desperate to make their way back into the country after Hamas militants attacked.
Some of these Israelis abroad aspire to serve, whether by fighting in a military reserve unit or volunteer to transport supplies to those in need, even though the war has already claimed at least 1,800 lives and shows no signs of slowing down. On Tuesday, the Israeli army expanded its mobilization of reservists to 360,000, according to the country’s media, as it intensified its retaliation against the surprise attacks.
Yaakov Swisa, 42, a father of five, said no one has called him to ask him to return to Israel to fight, but he feels he has no choice. He served for 15 years and said he learned his roommate in the Army was among the 260 people killed in the attack. a music festival.
Swisa wants to join his reserve unit, even if it means leaving his family and his construction job in Los Angeles.
“I’ve been crying for two, three days. Enough. That’s it. I’m ready to fight,” he said. “What else would I do… while my friends are buried in Israel?
Some Israelis living, working or simply traveling abroad who were trying to return home said their reserve units were among those called up. Others said they had not yet been called or could not reach their commanders, but hoped they would be asked soon.
In other cases, Israelis too young to serve in the army, as well as non-Israelis with close ties to the country, have attempted to travel to help family members or volunteer.
Adam Jacobs, an 18-year-old community college student from New Jersey, said he was born and raised in the United States and traveled every summer for years to visit family in Israel . He said he learned that his cousin was among those killed and that he wanted to go to Israel to do volunteer work, possibly to shuttle supplies.
“I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed here,” Jacobs said. “It’s never been this bad.”
Eric Fingerhut, a former U.S. congressman who now heads the Jewish Federations of North America, said he was not surprised by the number of people eager to help.
“As soon as we can allow this, we will certainly do it,” he said from Tel Aviv, where he had arrived just before the weekend attacks. “Many Israeli reservists are abroad. And so getting them home to join the fight, you know, has been a priority. And that should be a priority. So people are scrambling. »
The war began after Hamas militants breaks into Israel Saturday, during a major Jewish holiday, killing people and kidnapping others. In response, Israeli warplanes hit the Gaza Stripdestroying buildings and sending Palestinian residents scrambling for safety in the tiny, cordoned-off territory.
Journey was a challenge, with major airlines suspending flights to and from Israel. The U.S. Department of State has issued travel advisories for the region. Some reservists in the United States, home to more than 140,000 Israeli-born people, were trying to board charter flights.
Ofer Cohen, a New York businessman, said he learned that more than 200 reservists were passing through South America on vacation at the time of the attacks. They were called back to base but were unable to get there due to canceled flights. So Cohen is trying to scrape together hundreds of thousands of dollars to charter a plane to pick them up, while WhatsApp messages describing their problems continue to flood in.
“I saw them one after the other,” he said, “and I thought about the idea of taking a charter plane and bringing them back to Israel. »
In Greece, hundreds of people waited hours to board emergency flights at Athens International Airport, many without tickets and most traveling from other European destinations after cutting short their holiday trips and of work. As officers patrolled the area to ensure security, volunteers handed travelers apples, bananas and bottled water.
Nir Ekhouse, a 19-year-old from near Nazareth, was in the Maldives with his family. They reached Athens via Istanbul while trying to return home. Once there, Ekhouse said, he plans to volunteer for an organization that supports the military.
“This is the first time in Israeli history that something like this has happened. It’s very shocking,” he said, waiting in line with his parents and younger siblings.
Israel Lawrence, 27, was born in Israel and raised in London. He said that although he has not been officially called up, he is making the trip to join his fellow soldiers, many of whom are already on the front lines, and help his family members, who are living in terror and chaos.
“I want to be honest with you, I’m scared,” said Lawrence, a skilled shooter who was traveling to Israel via Cyprus. “Every guy I’m with is terrified, but we’re trained and we’ll do our best.”
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Hadjicostis was reported in Nicosia, Cyprus. Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California. Also contributing were AP journalists Bobby Caina Calvan in New York, Lefteris Pitarakis and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, John Leicester in Paris and Nicole Winfield and Patricia Thomas in Rome.
