Republican presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis oversaw the evacuation of nearly 300 American citizens who wanted to leave Israel.
"Today, we welcomed nearly 300 Americans who have been in Israel since last week, when the violent attacks by Hamas terrorists began," DeSantis said Sunday on X.
Two hundred and seventy people landed in Tampa Sunday night and were greeted by DeSantis. Another seven landed in Orlando.
DeSantis launched the evacuation initiative to help passengers get out of Israel after airlines canceled flights en masse.
The governor is partnering with organizations to aid with the evacuations, Politico reported:
DeSantis is offering transportation to Floridians who can’t make it back to the U.S. because of flight cancellations after Hamas’ attack on Israel. DeSantis signed an executive order on Thursday that authorizes Florida’s Division of Emergency Management to deliver flights to Israel and deliver needed supplies, including medicine and clothes.
Florida partnered with Tampa-based nonprofit rescue organization Project DYNAMO to arrange the flights. The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a question about the flights’ cost and whether the state will be providing more help to get people home if they live in another part of the state. A statement sent by the governor’s office did say that passengers weren’t being charged for the flights.