As the U.S. government has advised against traveling to Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank, the U.S. State Department is planning to charter flights and passage on ships to evacuate Americans who haven’t been able to find a way out of Israel through commercial means. According to news reports, animal companions will not be allowed on the trips. Animals don’t wage wars, yet they—along with innocent civilians—are often among the worst affected by them. Those who are left behind face extraordinary risks and are not likely to survive. Being forced to leave animals behind makes an already traumatic experience even more crushing for human victims.
Please contact State Department officials to ask that American citizens be allowed to bring their animal companions on government-chartered evacuation flights and ships, via the agency’s official contact form, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
