Veteran-led mission evacuates Americans from Israel as Biden's 'weakened' foreign policy blamed for risk
A veteran-led rescue organization is stepping up efforts to evacuate United States citizens and allies from Israel as tensions continue to hit a boiling point in the region following weeks of airstrikes between Israel and Iran.
Project DYNAMO – a nonprofit organization founded by veterans and intelligence professionals – specializes in rescuing Americans and allies from high-risk situations and disaster areas.
"We fill the gap [with] the bureaucracy of the government being so big, but at the same time, not necessarily," Mario Duarte, president and CEO of Project DYNAMO, told Fox News Digital. "With the capacity to cover the entire world, and millions and millions of Americans that at any given moment are around the world, there is always a need for someone to come and help our fellow Americans."
The organization was founded in 2021 in response to the U.S. military’s Afghanistan withdrawal. Since its initial launch, Project DYNAMO has conducted over 7,000 rescues from areas abroad and domestic natural disaster incidents, according to its website. While Project DYNAMO primarily focuses on physical extraction from an area, it also provides psychological resources for the evacuees they are working to save.
As the situation in the Middle East escalated leading up to and immediately following the U.S. military’s airstrikes on Iran’s three key nuclear bases over the weekend, Americans within the region began frantically trying to evacuate Israel.
Approximately 700,000 Americans currently live in Israel, with the vast majority dual nationals, according to estimates.
In response to the rising tensions following Israel’s initial bombing of Iran earlier this month, Project DYNAMO began extracting Americans and American allies from the country – with the organization’s 10th bus from Israel to Jordan departing on Sunday.
"For a few days, [the U.S.government] has been saying that there is going to be some sort of operation to extract Americans," Duarte said. "But at the same time, they keep saying that Americans should not wait for the government to do something. The situation is risky. People don't want to be in Israel anymore."
Individuals are accounted for from the moment they are taken into the care of Project DYNAMO, according to Duarte, who pointed to the most recent bombing of a residential building in Israel occurring over the weekend, forcing the organization to act. The organization’s model allows rescuers to evacuate approximately 1,000 individuals per week, according to Duarte.
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"The danger is there," Duarte told Fox News Digital. "It's clear and present. And the thing is, there is no actual response yet. And that's one of the reasons why Project DYNAMO deployed to the region, because someone had to do it."
As of Friday, the U.S. had evacuated 79 staff members and families from the U.S. Embassy in Israel – one day before President Donald Trump ordered the devastating airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The military flight was the second known evacuation in the days leading up to the attack on Iran, with the plane departing Tel Aviv for Sofia, Bulgaria, before the passengers boarded a connecting flight to Washington, according to an internal State Department memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The document also indicated that more than 6,400 U.S. citizens living in Israel had submitted documentation asking for information regarding U.S.-charted evacuation flights. An additional 3,265 people, including some individuals who also completed the online form, also called an emergency hotline to request assistance.
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Between 300 and 500 people per day are estimated to require evacuation assistance from Israel, with the U.S. government weighing the options of using flights or ships to extract Americans from the region.
"I think that risk to Americans has increased significantly," Duarte said. "Not because of the current actions of the [Trump] administration. But because in the past several years, the U.S. government – especially under the Biden administration – was weakened by its own position in foreign policy, which allowed other actors to dictate certain situations."
To date, Project DYNAMO has evacuated 228 Americans and allies from Israel, including 30 veterans visiting the country for a retreat and several young schoolchildren, since Israel began striking Iran on June 13.
However, Duarte insists there are thousands more U.S. citizens waiting to be extracted from the region, with the organization having a backlog of requests due to funding limitations. Despite the logistical constraints, Duarte is confident that Project DYNAMO possesses the unique capabilities to rescue at-risk individuals from Israel in a safe, efficient manner.
"It's a lot of things that go into this," Duarte said. "But that has to be done. It's an opportunity to show the good American spirit in other parts of the world."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.