Americans trying to evacuate the Middle East are frustrated with government response

As the US State Department says: urges Americans to leave 14 countries throughout the Middle East amid enlargement war with iransome Americans express frustration over the lack of help from their government.

Sasha Hoffman, an American who lives in Chicago and was vacationing in Dubai when the US-Israeli military action began, initially thought she could wait out the fighting. But after hearing President Trump say Operation Epic Fury could last four to five weeks, his way of thinking changed.

“Honestly, we’re stuck,” he told News themezone on Tuesday. “It’s really frustrating that now the United States is saying ‘Americans come home’ when in reality we can’t go home. We’ve booked flights today, tomorrow, and they’re all cancelled. All airspace is closed until tomorrow night, if you’re in the UAE.”

He said he understands the need to prioritize safety, “but then you can’t tell us to go out and not create an area where we can all go out on commercial flights.”

Hoffman also spoke of the fear of being trapped in a war zone, telling News themezone, “It’s terrifying.”

“We’re not used to this in the United States, where you hear fighter jets running all day, and you certainly don’t hear missiles landing and exploding… or plumes of smoke,” he said. “These are not normal things. I even lived through the Boston Marathon bombing, I lived right on top of it, and this is much worse than that.”

Americans were told Monday night to “depart now” from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. They were urged to leave “using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risks.”

The State Department said Tuesday that more than 9,000 Americans have returned to the United States from the Middle East in recent days, including more than 300 from Israel. More than a million Americans are believed to be in the region, a source told News themezone.

Travel blogger and influencer Alyssa Ramoswho is stuck in Kuwait, told News themezone on Monday that she is “taking matters into our own hands because the government is simply not helping us and there is no way to contact anyone.”

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait said later Tuesday that it was closed until further notice “due to ongoing regional tensions” and that consular appointments were canceled. It was closed a day after smoke was seen rising from the mission following Iranian attacks on the country.

Ramos said the Kuwait airport was attacked about two hours after she landed, and while they were thinking about trying to leave immediately, she said she was told to go to her hotel since the airport was closing. He also said that all the flights he tried to book out of the country were cancelled. Their other option is to reach Saudi Arabia by land and then take a flight from Riyadh, Ramos said.

He said hearing the missiles fly above us is “stressful” and “scary.”

“We hear the sirens all day, all night. In the middle of the night we hear the explosions in the sky and of course we see the news of places around us that are being hit,” Ramos said. “It’s really scary. We’re really hoping to get out of here.”

In Israel, American Tamar Rubinstein, pregnant with twins, said she will take a bus to Egypt and then fly across Europe back to her home in Chicago. He said the trip will take about two and a half days.

“There’s so much lack of clarity,” Rubinstein told News themezone. “So I didn’t want to get to the point where I couldn’t travel anymore.”

Nate Bowling, an American professor who has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2019, said News Philadelphia“We heard interceptions several times a day. There was an alert that went off at like 3 in the morning, it woke us up and we could hear the interceptions. But now we are safe and sound here.”

“There are no flights,” said the U.S. Air Force Reserve veteran and former National Teacher of the Year finalist. “And to be clear about it: The United States started a war. And then after the war started, it told people to evacuate. But there are no flights, so no one can leave.”