In an alarming escalation that threatens to provoke a full-blown regional war, Israel has launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in recent days and major airstrikes throughout that country, including in its capital, Beirut.
Lebanon currently has approximately 86,000 U.S. citizens and green-card holders. Although 7,000 people have already registered with the U.S. State Department for evacuation assistance, the Biden administration has made just 1,800 seats available on commercial airlines to U.S. citizens since the situation began deteriorating on Sept. 28.
I am in touch with families who describe a chaotic scramble reminiscent of the mad dash to the airport and family separation we saw in Afghanistan in 2021. One family tells me they chose to split up siblings, deciding to have the older children fly out of the country first. Another client is a vet who had been visiting Lebanon to oversee his retirement project, a pro bono internet cafe.
While Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport remains operational, commercial flights are at a reduced capacity with exorbitant ticket prices, flight cancellations and limited seats. The State Department has said it hopes to organize more flights but is not making these plans public as they may not materialize “for whatever reason.”
With the violence only escalating, it’s likely a matter of days before commercial flights cease operations.
We are on the brink of a potential disaster with many American lives on the line, which is why the Biden administration must issue a noncombatant evacuation order, before it’s too late.
Such an order in Lebanon would not be unprecedented. In 2006, the Department of Defense and the State Department executed one, during which the military evacuated 15,000 Americans from a warzone over three months.
However, there were notable shortcomings. First, the magnitude of the crisis taxed the State Department’s capacity. Second, the State Department failed to communicate effectively with the public and potential evacuees. Third, the different cultures and systems of the State and Defense departments impeded their ability to work together, resulting in miscommunications and delays in chartering ships and planes to evacuate.
Yet, despite these flaws, the very existence of such an operation proves that the U.S. government can, and should, take similar action again. Waiting for the situation to escalate further would be a failure of leadership — something the Biden administration cannot afford.
Indeed, this is the administration’s opportunity to be proactive instead of reactive when Arab and Muslim lives are on the line.
Last October, before Israeli ground operations began in Gaza, the State Department moved lightning-fast to bring Israeli Americans to safety. Dubbed the “Estia plan,” chartered cruise ships took thousands of Israeli Americans from the port city of Haifa to Cyprus, which has a history of acting as a temporary hub for American evacuees. From there, Israeli Americans, their immediate relatives, and at least four pet dogs were flown home on chartered jets.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Americans were abandoned by the State Department, which made a crisis intake form briefly available but otherwise refused to facilitate the exit of Americans through the Rafah Crossing.
To save the lives of Palestinian Americans, it took a group of us filing evacuation lawsuits and raising the alarm in the media. Yet Americans remain trapped in Gaza, dodging Israeli bombs their tax dollars have paid for. In June, my client, a green card holder, was killed in an Israeli bombardment while waiting for evacuation assistance.
Lebanon does not have to be another moral and legal failure for the Biden administration, as Gaza has been. The arguments this administration used in refusing Palestinian Americans evacuation assistance simply do not work in Lebanon. Unlike Gaza, Lebanon is not occupied territory and, as of now, its borders remain open and the international airport and U.S. embassy also remain open.
Under domestic and international law, the U.S. government has an obligation to safeguard its citizens during times of crisis, regardless of where they are in the world. The Constitution mandates the protection of American citizens, and U.S. law requires the State Department to use all available resources to evacuate Americans when necessary. This includes not just military or government action but a full range of diplomatic, logistical and transportation resources. American citizens and green-card holders in Lebanon have every right to expect that their government will prioritize their safety.
The path forward is clear. The Biden administration must issue a noncombatant evacuation order for Lebanon to ensure the safety of American citizens and their loved ones. This is not just a political issue; it is a moral imperative. We cannot afford to wait until the situation becomes irreversible. It is time to act — now.
Maria Kari is a human rights attorney, writer and co-founder of @insafproject, a pro bono legal organization. She worked on the evacuations of Palestinian Americans from Gaza and is currently involved in efforts to bring home Americans in Lebanon. She tweets at @mariakari1414.