NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – A 19-year-old from South Florida is among the Americans who landed in Florida Friday morning on a state-chartered plane from Israel as it fights with Iran.
The flights, organized through the Florida Department of Emergency Management, have evacuated more than 160 people from the Middle East to Tampa.
Noah Bensasson said “Thank you, God that I’m back,” as he landed in Tampa.
“I had the biggest smile on my face,” he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis greeted the evacuees at Tampa International Airport Friday morning.
Nonprofit Gray Bull Rescue is working with the state on evacuation efforts in Israel.
“My mom was, when she heard about the war, she freaked out, so she was trying to get me on any possible flight back home,” added Bensasson. “So she was signing me up for multiple different rescue missions. And then we found Gray Bull, which which was like the first program to help around 300 people get out of Israel, from Jordan to Cyprus and from Cyprus to Tampa.”
DeSantis also had the state aid in evacuating Americans after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.