WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. State Department continues its efforts to evacuate American citizens out of Lebanon amid escalations between Israel and Hezbollah. During State Department press briefings with spokesperson Matthew Miller on October 8 and 9, discussion regarding the U.S.’ efforts to evacuate American citizens out of Lebanon commenced.

Lebanon has faced an onslaught of Israeli airstrikes endangering civilians, including both Lebanese natives and American citizens. Middle East Eye reported that as of October 8, the death toll in Lebanon stands at 2,083 people. Those killed include 127 children and 261 women, while 9,869 individuals have been wounded. Thousands of Lebanese natives have been displaced while city infrastructure and residential buildings have been decimated in the strikes. Arab American leaders and elected officials from Michigan, including Governor Whitmer, have pleaded with the U.S. government to help American citizens depart from Lebanon.

Lebanese families in the Dearborn area have been directly impacted, with several of their family members killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Kamel Jawad, Sawsan Saba, Rabih Harb and Samar Sayyed are among the victims.

According to the State Department Fact Sheet, since September 28 the United States has secured more than 5,000 airplane seats for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, along with their family members, to evacuate Lebanon. 

The State Department Fact Sheet also reported various other efforts, including the reservation of seats for American citizens and their immediate family members, including parents, spouses and children under 21, on commercial flights and U.S. government-organized flights,  assisting with further steps of travel for those flying out of Beirut, providing emergency loans and maintaining operations at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. 

The State Department said it is still looking to reach all Americans left in Lebanon through townhall meetings virtually, phone calls and emails. Updates and more information can be found at travel.state.gov, U.S. Embassy Beirut’s website and the social media accounts for @usembassybeirut and @travelgov.

Smoke rises over Dahiyeh in Beirut’s southern suburbs after overnight Israeli air strikes [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]

On October 8, according to the State Department, an estimated 120 U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and their family members flew out of Lebanon on a flight organized by the U.S. A total of 3,900 seats on commercial and U.S. organized flights out of Lebanon have been made available to American citizens leaving Lebanon.

The State Department also said it has been in contact with approximately 8,800 U.S. citizens as well as their family members in Lebanon who have requested leaving or assistance with loans. 

Senior State Department and White House officials met with two Arab American officials, Michigan State Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Executive Director Abed Ayoub, last week to discuss ways the U.S. can assist the evacuation of American citizens out of Lebanon. U.S. Rep. Rashid Tlaib (D-Detroit), who represents the 12th Congressional District, which includes parts of Wayne and Oakland Counties, posted a video on Instagram earlier this month pleading with the State Department to do something as she recalled 148 families — American citizens with ties to her district  — still stuck in Lebanon. 

Farhat told The Arab American News that when meeting with the White House officials, they noted the great difficulty Americans were having when trying to leave Lebanon.

“We made it clear that the U.S. has to do more in their response to bring them home and the need for a humanitarian parole program so American citizens can bring their loved ones who are overseas right now home,” he said.

A second State Department press briefing on October 9 began with a question about the flight update out of Lebanon. Miller said a flight went out the morning of the briefing, carrying 50 people from Beirut to Istanbul. He also said a flight left the night before, carrying a roughly 13 or 14 American citizens, “to bring the total number of American citizens, legal permanent residents and their family members who have left on these U.S.-organized flights since we started them about a week ago to over 1,100 people.”

“There have been a total of 3,620 available seats on those flights,” he said during the briefing, “and then when you add the number of seats on commercial flights that are – we have been making available, there have been a total of 4,600 seats that we have been able to make available to American citizens, permanent residents and family members.” 

A man looks at destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on October 7. Amnesty International criticized Israel’s evacuation warnings for Lebanon as “misleading and inadequate”- Photo by AP

Arab American leaders and elected officials in Michigan have made their voices heard, pleading with the U.S. government to assist with this issue. Governor Whitmer wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressing the difficulties American citizens are having trying to leave Lebanon, including flight cancellations and increasing ticket prices.

“We have already heard reports of confirmed deaths, and we fear there may be more victims,” Whitmer wrote. “We cannot stand idle while the people of our state and their families continue to suffer.

“It is essential that we all work together to evacuate Michigan residents to safety and return them to their families immediately,” she added.

The letter referenced the American citizens or permanent residents from Michigan’s 12th Congressional District who are facing difficulty trying to leave Lebanon.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud stated last week that the Arab American community in the city is “watching in horror as their loved ones in Lebanon are being slaughtered.”

Tlaib created a page titled “Evacuation Assistance” on her website and explained on social media that she informed the State Department of the high cost airline tickets preventing Americans from being able to leave Lebanon, and the State Department responded, “We will provide them with loans.”

“One of the core missions of the U.S. State Department is to protect Americans,” Tlaib wrote “…They are failing again… The desperate calls coming into my office are heartbreaking.”

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Ann Arbor) also urged the State Department to be active in evacuating American citizens.

“I request that the State Department double its efforts to assist Americans wishing to leave due to the unpredictable nature of the conflict in Lebanon,” she wrote in a letter to Secretary Blinken earlier this month.

Additionally, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D–Holly), a candidate for U.S. Senate, noted that flights have become “extremely rare and expensive” for more than 6,000 American citizens in Lebanon, who have filled out the assistance form made available by the State Department since Sunday.

“The U.K. has begun chartering flights for its citizens, and it’s time for the U.S. to do the same,” Slotkin wrote on social media.

The State Department stated its efforts to help Americans evacuate from Lebanon will continue as it works with commercial flights to reserve seats and maintains contact with them through email, telephone and virtual townhalls.