POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A pastor from Polk County is eager to get back to Florida after managing to leave Israel amidst escalating violence in the Middle East.
“We’re not on American soil yet,” said Kelly Galati, a pastor at Family Life Church of Frostproof. “We’re ready to get there.”
Galati and his tour group of about 40 people were in Israel when the country began to take incoming missiles in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli rocket strikes on Iran.
“We had a missile land a block from our hotel,” Galati recounted.
[WATCH: New airstrikes is US-Israeli military operation against Iran intensifies]
Galati spoke to News 6 Tuesday via Zoom from his hotel in Cairo, Egypt, where he and his group arrived Monday.
He said that they had managed to secure buses that were accompanied by armed guards. Twelve hours later, they were in Egypt, where they hope to depart for Florida Friday.
“Israel did an amazing job getting us out of the country as quickly as they could, and as safely,” Galati said. “And for that we’re grateful.”
The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that the agency is “actively securing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who wish to leave the Middle East.”
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy for Jerusalem posted on X that it was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.”
“People are really creative,” said Marni Mandell, the CEO of Shalom Orlando. “And they’ve gotten out in various different ways.”
Mandell and her family left Israel in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, but initially had no intention to stay in the United States for long.
“Two and a half years later, and I now have the great fortune of being able to lead this organization,” Mandell said.
News 6’s Mike Valente asked Mandell if she believes the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has a responsibility to help Americans evacuate the country.
“Respectfully, I would love the American government to be able to assist anyone all over the world to be able to get to their loved ones,” Mandell said. “But I can’t really predict or say whether they should or could do anything because I don’t know all of the factors. And I don’t think any of us really do.”