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Israel rescue flight lands at TPA
Aaron Mesmer reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Dozens of Americans landed at Tampa International Airport Wednesday morning after the Tampa-based, veteran-operated nonprofit Project Dynamo organized a rescue flight out of Israel.
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Forty-seven people were on the plane that flew into Tampa, including the Zins family from California, who traveled to Israel to drop a child off at college in Haifa.
They were there for four days before the Hamas attack left the Zins desperate to leave.
"There was fear, distress. We are refugees with our clothes on our backs leaving a war-torn country, trying to seek safety," said Gail Zins. "As a mother, all I want to do is keep my family together and safe. It might be commonplace or taken for granted that in Israel, whether American or Israeli, they survive bomb shelters. They kind of become everyday occurrences. For us, it was a nightmare."
The Zins connected with Project Dynamo and were told to be prepared to go at any moment. The family says they slept fully clothed, with their shoes on, waiting for a call.
"We were just waiting and waiting and waiting to hopefully get that phone call that they got a plane," said Talia Zins, who still wants to go to college in Israel.
This was the second rescue flight organized by Project Dynamo to land in Tampa. Both were funded by the State of Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency last week to help evacuate Americans from the region.
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The first flight landed Sunday night, carrying 270 U.S. citizens.
"The night that we were moving, there was missile fire that night,' Bryan Stern, the leader of Project Dynamo, said, adding he'd like to organize rescue flights out of Israel. "As long as we have funding, a need, and a team that can do it -- the three legs of the stool -- we will continue to operate for sure. We will not leave Americans in peril as long as we have funding to do it."
The Florida Department of Emergency Management says three more flights are expected to be landing in Tampa within the next week or so.