US and Canada Begin Evacuating Thousands of Citizens from the Middle East
The United States Department of State confirmed that the first charter flight carrying American citizens has departed the Middle East on Wednesday local time. This marks the first official evacuation facilitated by the US government, coming just days after the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran.
The department said that additional flights would continue to be increased across the region. However, details on routes and evacuation destinations remain classified. ‘For operational security reasons, additional information about ongoing transport operations will not be released at this time,’ the State Department said in a briefing.
As of Wednesday morning, the US government has reportedly provided assistance to nearly 6,500 Americans in the form of critical information and transport options.
Separately, the Qatari Ministry of Interior began evacuating residents living near the US Embassy as a ‘temporary precaution’ to safeguard public safety, though authorities did not specify the exact threat prompting the move. Evacuees will be accommodated by Qatari authorities.
Meanwhile, Canada is also racing to rescue its citizens. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canadians in Israel would be evacuated by bus to the Egyptian border. In Beirut, a small number of citizens have begun departing by air.
Canada lists more than 100,000 of its citizens registered in the Middle East, with around 2,000 having applied to depart. ‘Canada is also attempting to organise charter flights from the UAE as airspace opens,’ Anand added.
Flight disruptions across the region have left thousands of tourists stranded, including Chinese travellers. Kun Wang, a tourist in Dubai, said he spent more than US$4,350 on three different tickets in the hope that one would take him out of the region.
The chaos has sparked a wave of posts on Chinese social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, where users shared self-evacuation strategies. Some have opted to hire cars at roughly US$1,450 to drive from the UAE to Oman in order to secure a flight to Southeast Asia.
‘Around the take-off, price isn’t a concern,’ commented one user on the platform.
A student named Matt Hu recounted driving for hours to Jeddah after his flight was cancelled, before eventually managing to fly to Kuala Lumpur. ‘We just want to go somewhere where we can sleep soundly at night,’ Hu said upon arriving in Malaysia.
Although the situation remains tense, there are signs of movement as FlightRadar24 data showed one Emirates flight departing Dubai for Guangzhou on Wednesday after three days of cancellations. (CNN/Z-2)