TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - Some Americans who are fighting to get home from the Middle East are receiving help from a Florida nonprofit.
Five days into the the ongoing conflict between Iran and the U.S. and Israel, more than 1,500 Americans are stuck in the Middle East. Officials with the Trump administration said they’re working to secure military flights to get them home.
Grey Bull Rescue, a nonprofit organization based in Tampa, is also on a rescue mission in the middle of the war. It helped hundreds of Americans stuck in Israel.
Dr. Randy Helms, the pastor at GT Church Assembly of God in St. Petersburg, said it was never his plan to be stuck in such a scary position.
“It’s been frightening because we – I’ve never been in a war before. I’ve never had missiles shot at me,” he said.
Helms and 34 members of his congregation arrived in Israel on Feb. 24 for a tour of the Holy Land, but since Saturday, they’ve had to rush to a bomb shelter more than 20 times.
“It was just startling, frightening. Our guides, however, knew exactly what was happening, and they ushered us quickly to a shelter,” said Helms.
Helms said they reached out to the State Department, their representatives, the mayor’s office and others to help get them home, to no avail.
The State Department is urging Americans in the 13 Gulf states — plus Israel, Gaza and the West Bank — to get out. But with embassies and airspaces closed, it has been nearly impossible for U.S. citizens to find a way home.
“Everybody was very sympathetic; no one could help us,” said Helms.
But Grey Bull Rescue could. Tuesday morning, their team that specializes in high-rescue operations picked them up in a bus and started the trip out of Israel.
“We’re gonna go across the border, make our way to Jerusalem, post up there and start setting conditions to start doing buses and moving people out,” said Bryan Stern, Grey Bull’s founder.
Stern said they’ve rescued 300 to 400 people from this region just this week alone.
“Normally, it’s a country with closed airspace and a country with missiles landing and that kind of deal. Here [in Israel], I have folks all over the place,” he said.
“[I want to] thank everybody for their prayers. We’re safe. God bless Grey Bull Rescue,” said Helms.
Days after the U.S. and Israel led the strikes on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the challenges the Trump administration is facing evacuating American civilians.
“Nine thousand Americans have been able to leave the region since the start of this war. We have about 1,500 Americans that are requesting assistance with departure,” said Rubio.
Kristy Ellmer and her partner Matt have been trying to get back home to New Hampshire since Saturday.
“We had a very long night, a lot of explosions,” she said.
However, they have been unsuccessful.
“We actually just heard from the embassy to reach out and make sure that we’re registered to make sure, I think, if they’re gonna do an evacuation plan, that we are on the list,” said Ellmer in a TV news interview.
The joint operation between the U.S. and Israel sparked targeted retaliatory strikes from Iran. So many of its Gulf neighbors were impacted that it prompted the world’s largest airport in Dubai to shut down.
Travel blogger Alyssa Ramos said the U.S. government was no help after she got the “depart now” alert on Monday.
“We have seen the government’s post today telling all Americans to evacuate on their own,” she said. “I can hear the missiles overhead already.”
Ramos, a West Palm native, decided to try to leave Kuwait City and get to Saudi Arabia and catch a flight back to California, where she now lives.
She said the journey took seven and a half hours and cost $1,200. She chronicled her journey on her Instagram account for her 206,000 followers.
“We’ve successfully made it out of Kuwait,” she said in a post.
In another post, Ramos said, “OK, so I’m not super confident about this flight taking off. The airport’s pretty empty. There was an alarm earlier; all the flights to the Gulf countries are canceled.”
Rubio told reporters finding safe flights out for Americans remains the top priority.
“We have identified and continue to identify charter flights, military flight options and expand to commercial flight options, meaning working with the airlines to send bigger airplanes with more seats,” he said.
Officials urge anyone who knows someone stranded in the affected area to call the State Department at 202-501-4444. They also advise those trying to get home from the Middle East to register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
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