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‘As if we didn’t exist’: Americans feel abandoned under bombs in Lebanon | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Posted on by darion

Washington, DC – Karam, an American citizen stuck in Lebanon, says she feels like she doesn’t matter to the U.S. government.

For much of the last year, Lebanon has faced relentless Israeli bombardment – part of a US-backed campaign that has killed hundreds and displaced more than a million, according to the United Nations.

However, the conflict has escalated in recent days as the Israeli military launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon.

On Monday, Karam called the U.S. embassy in Beirut to ask for help to escape the violence. However, she said she was told to find a way to get out of the country on her own.

Karam, who chose to use a pseudonym out of fear of retaliation, contrasted how the U.S. State Department quickly chartered special flights and a ship to evacuate American citizens in Israel after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 last year.

“Lebanese-Americans were treated as U.S. citizens of less importance than Israeli citizens in the U.S. It’s like we don’t exist,” Karam told Al Jazeera.

One flight

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s administration announced it had signed a contract for the first flight to evacuate U.S. citizens from Beirut to Istanbul, nine days after Israel launched its offensive in Lebanon.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said there were 100 U.S. citizens on the plane – a fraction of the nearly 6,000 Americans who contacted the U.S. embassy for information and assistance.

Miller said the U.S. administration hopes to organize more flights, but added he would not announce them because they might not happen “for any reason.”

He also indicated that the U.S. government would rely on commercial airlines to meet any unmet demand. “We have been working to make seats available or find available seats on existing commercial flights,” he said.

However, during previous conflicts, including the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli forces bombed the runways of Beirut airport.

In recent days, the Israeli military has carried out airstrikes on blocks from the airport, raising concerns about the security of civil aviation in the country.

As of September 23, all foreign airlines canceled their flights to Lebanon, leaving the country’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) as the only airline operating flights from Beirut International Airport.

MEA offers approximately 30 flights daily to destinations in Europe and the Middle East, far exceeding the growing demands of those wanting to leave Lebanon.

Prices also skyrocketed due to the crisis. For example, as of Wednesday, the next available MEA flight to Istanbul will be on October 27, with a one-way ticket price of $310. The remaining flights were sold out.

“Bombs Everywhere”

Last week, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who represents Michigan’s large Lebanese community, accused the U.S. government of failing its citizens abroad.

“Our residents book these ‘available flights’ which are repeatedly canceled. And guess what? Airfare on one available commercial flight is $8,000,” she wrote in a social media post.

Karam, originally from southern Lebanon, is currently in a mountainous area east of Beirut that has largely escaped Israeli attacks.

But she said she was afraid to move around the country or visit her son in the capital because Israel could bomb anything, anywhere, at any time.

While Israel concentrated its airstrikes in southern Lebanon, as well as the Bekaa Valley in the east, the bombs targeted other areas, including Beirut’s borders and suburbs such as Dahiyeh.

“Israel claims to be following Hezbollah, but it is dropping bombs everywhere,” Karam said.

“The innocent people of the south and Dahiyeh paid the price. We also don’t know how long people will be displaced.”

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut issued advisories urging people to leave the country and made available an aid application form, but many people who filled out the application said they did not receive a response beyond publicly available instructions.

“Reflection” of US policy

Kamal Makki, a Michigan resident, said his father was stranded in Lebanon after his flight was canceled. The country was bombed all the time.

Makki added that his father received no help from the U.S. government to escape the violence.

“Yes, commercial flights are available, but not for everyone. Only a certain number of people can get on the plane, so you just have to wait and see when it’s your turn and whether your flight gets canceled,” he said.

Makka’s father, a U.S. citizen, was visiting family in Lebanon when the conflict with Israel escalated. On Tuesday, after days of waiting, he finally managed to fly to Baghdad, but during the layover, flights from Iraq were canceled due to an Iranian missile attack on Israel. Now he is immobilized again.

As Israel escalates its attacks across the region, critics say the U.S. government must make serious efforts to evacuate its citizens in Lebanon by land and sea, as it did with Americans in Israel last October.

Makki said the Biden administration is not treating Arab Americans fairly: “There has always been a view that Israeli lives are more important than Arab lives.”

Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Committee Against Discrimination, said Americans stuck in Lebanon are experiencing confusion due to poor communication from the U.S. Embassy.

He also argued that a single evacuation flight was far from enough and stressed that the United States had the capacity and expertise to send enough planes and ships to get its citizens out.

“It’s a reflection of American foreign policy and American priorities, and Arab Americans and American Muslims rank low on both lists for them,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.

Other countries appear to have been more active in helping their citizens in Lebanon. Canada said Monday it had reserved 800 seats on commercial flights for Canadian citizens in Lebanon, while Germany organized two evacuation flights that took 240 people out of the country.

Kamela Jawad

Supporters say that as Israel expands its bombing in Lebanon, more U.S. citizens will be at risk. The Israeli campaign had already targeted roads and residential buildings – many of which were inhabited by displaced people.

On Tuesday, for example, longtime Michigan resident Kamel Jawad was killed in an Israeli bombing.

“It is our understanding that he was a lawful permanent resident and not an American citizen, but of course we extend our sincerest condolences to the family for their loss,” State Department spokesman Miller said Wednesday when asked about the incident.

Ayoub said that while Jawad may not technically be a U.S. citizen, he was a pillar of the Arab-American community in Michigan: respected, respected and loved by everyone.

“He was a mentor to many. He gave back to society. He was there for everyone. He raised an amazing family,” Ayoub said of Jawad.

He added that Miller’s “presumptuous” and disparaging comments underscore the administration’s view of Arabs and Arab Americans.

“It’s as if they deliberately wanted to see our people die, deliberately belittling and dehumanizing us,” he said.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the human rights group DAWN, also condemned Jawad’s killing.

“It is appalling that Israel used American weapons not only to terrorize Lebanese civilians, but also to indiscriminately kill an American permanent resident,” she told Al Jazeera in a statement.