As bombs fly, are Americans in Lebanon on their own?

UPDATE 10/4 6:45 a.m.: The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that it had arranged flights for 250 American citizens out of Lebanon this week, but so far no large scale plans for evacuation have been activated.

While the U.S. has reportedly given the green light to Israel’s cross-border war with Hezbollah, the State Department has so far made it clear that, as of now, American nationals seeking to flee Lebanon are down to some meager options.

“At this time there are commercial [flight] options available,” State Department representative Matthew Miller said in a Sept. 30 press briefing in response to a question about an evacuation operation. “We are exploring other potential options, should we need to, but it’s not a decision we’ve made as of yet.”

Stories are already surfacing of Americans trapped in Lebanon, trying to get out. According to 2022 estimates, there are approximately 86,000 Americans in the country.

“Flights are being canceled. My flight got canceled two times already and my third flight. I just got the email today also got canceled,” said Jonathan Sahyoun, a San Francisco Bay area resident who is now in Beirut visiting family.

“Whether it's through the beaches or these military airports. I think that we are just counting on the U.S. government to get us out, because I don't think anybody feels safe driving toward Beirut in the condition it’s in," he told the local news in San Francisco.

The Middle East accelerated towards all-out war on Tuesday, ticked off by Israel’s Hezbollah offensive into Lebanon in the morning and the hundreds of missiles fired out of Iran and into Israel later in the night. The death toll in Lebanon has exceeded 1,000 in the past two weeks, with Israeli airstrikes killing 95 people on Monday alone.

Amidst this incurring invasion, however, the U.S. has yet to form a plan for American nationals in Lebanon — fleeing American made-bombs, no less — beyond offering loans for the small number of remaining commercial flight services out of the country.

To be fair, the U.S. is not alone: no nation has adopted a large-scale military evacuation for their nationals in Lebanon thus far. The critical difference, however, is that none of these other nations are also actively supporting and funding Israel’s aggressive actions that are putting those nationals in harm’s way.

In a statement made Sept. 28 on X, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed support for Israel’s “right to defend itself” against Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East. Two days earlier, Israel said it secured $8.7 billion in aid from the U.S. for its military operations.

By contrast, Israel’s invasion into Lebanon on Oct. 1 prompted condemnation from other leaders across the world. The U.K., while less fervent in its disapproval of Israel, did announce plans on Tuesday to charter a plane to Beirut, offering seats for its citizens and dependents for £350 each.

A State Department spokesperson told Responsible Statecraft that they are working with international partners and airline carriers to expand the current limited capacity of commercial flights out of Lebanon for American citizens.

“We have been exploring options on how to best assist U.S. citizens in Lebanon. Our planning incorporates the overall security situation, availability and reliability of commercial transportation, and U.S. citizen demand,” the spokesperson said. “We have been and will continue to monitor the situation in Lebanon closely and will provide information directly on options for U.S. citizens to depart as they become available.”

The Department encouraged American citizens in Lebanon to fill out their crisis intake form, which offers help with passports, visas for accompanying spouses or minors, and applying for a loan from the U.S. government to finance travel expenses out of the country.

Further action may indeed not be far away, with the U.S. stationing dozens more troops in Cyprus last week for a potential evacuation situation in Lebanon. It took the U.S. just three days after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon on July 13, 2006 to begin a large-scale evacuation project that eventually removed almost 15,000 Americans from Lebanon in the following months.

But how much will the U.S. tolerate this time around when the actions of its friends yet again endanger its own people? Based on its general complacency so far in the region, this remains alarmingly unclear.

Aaron Sobczak contributed to research for this article.