US planning to evacuate thousands of Americans from Middle East: report
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Washington: The Joe Biden administration may well evacuate thousands of Americans from the Middle East as Gaza war is likely to intensify, The Washington Post report.
When Hamas operatives overran Israel on October 7, there were believed to be about 6,00,000 US citizens in Israel and 86,000 in Lebanon.
The decision to act sooner than later has to do with the fear of situation going out of hand upon Israel starting ground offensive, aided by US weapons and military advisers.
The report citing officials, who chose anonymity, said Americans in Israel and neighbouring Lebanon are a particular concern.
However, evacuation of the anticipated magnitude could be a worst-case scenario, according to the report.
One official was quoted as saying that it ‘would be irresponsible not to have a plan for everything.’
While openly supporting Israel, the US administration is reportedly worried about the situation escalating and thus having to ‘relocate large number of people’.
The US administration is concerned about terror group Hezbollah, which currently controls Lebanon’s majority parliament seats, attacking Israel from the north.
There have been reports of skirmishes happening along the border between two nations, it is reported.
One official reportedly admitted that it has become a real issue, adding that ‘The administration is very, very, very worried that this thing is going to get out of hand.’
The US administration is also worried about street protests spreading in the Arab world that could put US personnel and citizens at risk.
Meanwhile Bruce Riedel, who is a senior fellow the Brookings Institution and former official in the Clinton administration, said that the Arab and Muslim world ‘didn't care about Palestine anymore’.
Riedel linked this reasoning to the example of Abraham Accords, signed by the governments of Sudan, Morocco, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
"Well, Palestine has come back. I don't think it ever went away," Riedel was quoted by Washington Post as saying.
