American students and tour groups in Israel hoping to evacuate in the middle of Iran missile strikes

While Israel and Iran continued to exchange missiles on Wednesday, some US citizens have begun to make plans to evacuate Israel, and for many young people on tours or studying, it has been bittersweet.

Some, such as the Junior of the University of Michigan, Julia Cohen, had arrived in May with hundreds of other university students to participate in the Birthright Onward program, which provides internships and companionship in Israel to people of Jewish descent. He had been dreaming of studying in Israel for years and, after much consideration, his parents decided to support their daughter’s decision in April.

Cohen recently found a hotel in southern Israel after Iran and Israel nights exchanging missilesHis mother told News themezone in New York.

“They were running from one place to another to bombard shelters in Tel Aviv,” said Marnie Cohen, who had reserved return flights to Barcelona and then to the United States.

Until Wednesday, at least 24 people have been killed by Iranian missiles who went through Israel’s robust aerial defenses, according to Israeli officials. Human rights activists based in the United States in the Iranian organization, which is based on a network of contacts in the country, said Tuesday that he had documented at least 452 deaths in Iran since Israel launched their attacks.

President Trump saying On Wednesday he had not yet decided if the American army would join the ongoing attacks of Israel against Iran. The sources told News themezone that Mr. Trump has approved The attack plans in the country, but had not yet made a final decision to strike.

The United States Embassy in Israel announced Wednesday that I was working on Build evacuation and cruise ships For US citizens who wish to leave the country, but the State Department then said that “he did not have an announcement about helping private citizens from this time.”

After Israel’s airspace closed, Birthright Onward moved between 300 and 400 Tel Aviv students, and the parents began to explore alternatives to get their children out of the country, said Marnie Cohen. It is not clear how many students are currently in Israel.

Birthright aims to bring 50,000 young Jews, a part of which attend the Onward program, Israel every year. News themezone contacted Birthright to comment on how American citizens are helping their tours currently stranded in Israel, but did not receive answers before the publication.

Cohen said that her daughter’s fourth companion came out through Jordan, taking a car to the capital of Amman and flying from there to the United States. Other students took a near Cyprus boat and are waiting for flights there. Even so, said Marnie Cohen, even though her daughter knew about danger, she didn’t want to leave.

Lauren Field arrived in Israel from Connecticut the day before the conflict began, and a few days before the United States raised its travel advice For Israel at level 4, the highest level: visit his 20 -year -old son who studies in Tel Aviv. She, her husband, son and teenage daughter have been waiting in the south of Israel by evacuation.

His family registered in the SMART Travel Registration Program (STEP) and was waiting to listen to the next steps on the evacuation plans of the United States government. She said she had not yet heard from the federal government, but had been in contact with local legislators and non -profit organizations.

She said her son had feelings found about leaving Israel.

Field, who visited Israel once before in 1990, said that even with the uncertainty that everyone faces, she and her family felt quite safe.

“We have met the most surprising and wonderful people and we feel more connected than ever,” Field said.

• Iran
• Israel