Pentagon evacuates personnel from Israel amid Gaza violence
The 120 US military personnel were visiting for a planning conference ahead of a joint exercise with Israeli forces.
The escalating violence between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza has prompted the US military to withdraw more than 100 personnel from Israel.
Some 120 service members, including personnel from the Navy’s Combined Task Force 76 and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, were evacuated in a C-17 transport aircraft to Germany on Thursday as rockets continued to stream into Israeli skies.
The sailors and Marines were in Israel for a “routine planning event” ahead of a joint training exercise and were originally set to depart later this week, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters. CNN’s Barbara Starr first reported the evacuation.
Several US commercial airlines have canceled flights between the United States and Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport due to the rocket fire from Gaza. Civilian air traffic was redirected to Ramon Airport near Eilat in Israel’s far south near the Red Sea.
