TAMPA, Florida — A couple of hundred families have fled Israel and landed at Tampa International Airport thanks to a local nonprofit organization.
The local nonprofit, Project DYNAMO, has helped 270 people fly from Israel to the Sunshine State safely. The 17-hour journey started in Tel Aviv and landed on Sunday night.
Officials with Project DYNAMO said the plane carrying 270 people consisted of 269 Americans, one person from the Czech Republic, about 90 children and around 70 Floridians. After landing, some families have shared their stories of finally feeling safe.
Many described it as a freeing flight that allowed them to leave a country of chaos.
"As a mother, as a new mom, it really triggered me to have a lot of anxiety," one woman named Sarah who was on the flight said.
Sarah flew from Israel to Tampa with her 10-month-old baby girl in her arms, her senior dog and her husband. Sarah explained fleeing Israel wasn't an easy decision, but it was the safest decision for their family. Her husband had to make the tough decision to leave behind all of his family.
"My anxiety, I couldn’t sleep, just thinking about my child and her protection," Sarah said. "It was a lot of back and forth and a lot of anxiety and stress," Sarah added.
Project DYNAMO has helped hundreds of people who have struggled to find flights out of Israel. Many people explained the big issue was airlines canceling flights.
The CEO of Project DYNAMO said the journey to get all 270 people to the U.S. was stressful because of the violence taking place. The airspace could have closed at any moment before takeoff. Thankfully, they took off in time without any issues.
Another issue was the flight took place during the Sabbath.
For Jewish people, the Sabbath is from Friday evening to Saturday evening and they are not allowed to fly in an airplane during the Sabbath. Some people made the decision to do so regardless and others were blessed by a Rabi to go ahead and escape. There were some who made the choice to not fly and stay due to religious beliefs.
People explained they decided to leave the country they love because it’s become a place they currently fear.
"Where we were living, there were a lot of explosions," one couple, Ron and Linda Neumann, said. "I’m a Vietnam vet and they rescued me and got us home," Ron said.
It’s the first time the two are feeling relieved in a while. They made it back home to Melbourne, Florida, where they have family. Before they secured the flight with Project DYNAMO, Linda said she was living in fear.
"It’s a feeling of we could die," Linda said.
Linda recalled hearing bombs, rockets and sirens go off constantly.
"It sounded like thunder far away, then it got louder and then it was very loud," Linda recalled.
For parents, they said it was scary to watch their children witness that.
"It was a lot of uncertainty and it was nerve-racking, more so for the older kids," one mother on the flight, Sophie Houllu, said.
Houllu explained that her kids who are older understand what is happening, which makes them more fearful. For those like Sarah who have toddlers, she said her baby didn't understand the loud booms and she wants to keep it that way.
"We keep it happy and play. We have a lot of toys in our shelter room," Sarah added.
This week, these families don't have to worry about bomb shelter rooms.
"Definitely a huge relief, but it’s also scary because we just left our family behind and everything that we know," Sarah said.
Project DYNAMO said this was the first time a government has helped financially. Gov. Ron DeSantis stepped in with this mission to fund the flight.
Right now, there are no future flights funded by the government with Project DYNAMO.
Officials with Project DYNAMO said they are working on having more flights. There is a great need overseas. Right now, Project DYNAMO's case workers are in touch with hundreds of people and have 1,000 registrations, many consisting of families. Officials also said they are in touch with family members of hostages.
The nonprofit said its biggest challenge right now is funding. They have the logistics to help people, but they need the money. To fund a plane, the CEO said they were quoted about $2 million.
It's unclear how much the state of Florida paid for the most recent flight, but Project DYNAMO said the contributions were helpful.
If you would like to donate, you can do so online.