Gov. Ron DeSantis greeted roughly 160 Americans evacuated from Israel on Friday, revealing that the rescue efforts were likely the "most challenging" the state's emergency response team has ever dealt with.
DeSantis spoke at an early morning press conference at the Tampa airport Friday morning, just hours after the second evacuation flight out of Cyprus landed in the Gulf Coast hub. Over 300 Jewish Americans have made it home on DeSantis-sponsored flights since airstrike warfare broke out between Israel and Iran last Thursday.
And though Florida helped rescue hundreds of Americans in the aftermath of Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and hundreds more when Haiti was overtaken by gang violence, DeSantis said these rescue trips have been the hardest to coordinate since he took office.
"This is probably the most challenging and logistically difficult mission that the Florida Department of Emergency Management has done, certainly in my time," DeSantis said, standing alongside FDEM director Kevin Guthrie and right-wing columnist Josh Hammer, who was among the Americans brought back from Israel.
Citing the "barrage of missiles" and Israeli airport closures, DeSantis noted the arduous journey many took to make it back to the United States. 1,500 Jewish Americans—many of whom were on a Birthright Israel trip to learn about their heritage—took a cruise ship guarded by the Israeli Navy to Larnaca, Cyprus.
Here, DeSantis arranged for four jetliners to evacuate the fleeing travelers after their 13-hour voyage. So far, two rescue flights—the first with around 150 people and the second about 160—have made it into Tampa International Airport. This won't be the last flight, DeSantis and Guthrie vowed.
"Evacuation flights are still ongoing," Guthrie said, pointing out that FDEM has helped put over 1,100 people on a passenger ferry. It is unclear if this is the same cruise ship that made berth in Cyprus earlier this week.
FDEM partnered with a veteran-led non-profit, Grey Bull Rescue, to rescue trapped Americans. State Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican and former Green Beret, joined the evacuation efforts and has now been in Israel for 5 days, DeSantis said.
DeSantis lauded Collins—floated as a likely contender to be Florida's next Lieutenant Governor—as an "action figure" who "springs into action." DeSantis promised to fill the vacant position after the legislative session, which ended late Monday. The spot was emptied by Jeanette Nuñez when she became the President of Florida International University.
The Iran-Israel conflict turned violent last Thursday, when Israel launched a surprise attack and wiped out a slew of nuclear scientists and high-ranking military officials.
Iran has retaliated with heavy strikes on cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa. With no signs of de-escalation, and as President Donald Trump weighs whether to enter the conflict, the Iranian death toll has climbed to 639, as Israel's stands at 24.
