Washington/Dubai — More than 32,000 American citizens have left the Middle East as tensions escalate following the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, according to the U.S. State Department.
The evacuation comes after Washington urged its citizens to leave the region due to growing security risks. The conflict has significantly heightened instability across the Middle East, raising fears of a broader regional war.
In an update issued on Sunday (March 8), the State Department said that since February 28 approximately 32,000 Americans have returned to the United States. Officials also noted that they had operated nearly two dozen chartered flights in recent days to assist with the evacuation.
However, the department added that more than half of the American citizens who initially requested assistance eventually chose not to use U.S. government-arranged transportation and instead made their own travel arrangements.
According to Al Jazeera, air travel across much of the Middle East has been severely disrupted since the outbreak of hostilities between Iran and the U.S.–Israel alliance. Several airports have suspended or limited operations, prompting thousands of people to seek ways to leave the region. Some travelers have reportedly spent large sums of money to charter private jets to secure their departure.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military confirmed that an American soldier injured in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia has died. The U.S. Central Command said the soldier had been wounded during the strike earlier in the conflict.
With this latest death, the number of U.S. military personnel killed in the ongoing conflict has risen to seven.
At the same time, Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. In a statement, the group said the strike took place at 5:55 p.m. local time on Sunday and was carried out in response to Israeli attacks on Beirut and other cities in southern Lebanon.
