Georgia family home safe after escaping Israel-Iran conflict

Georgia family escapes Israel with help from non-profit

Public flights into and out of the country were canceled by most major airlines after the Israel-Iran conflict heated up this month.

ATLANTA - Three Georgia women are back home after a nonprofit helped them escape Israel.

What they're saying:

Sonia Delgado, her daughter and her friend started their trip June 8. It was supposed to last a week, but the conflict between Israel and Iran intensified while they were visiting.

"We did all the things, as an American, that we're supposed to do. We checked the State Department, registered with STEP," said Delgado. "Nothing said 'do not travel to Israel.' Just to go somewhere we've never been. See somewhere we've never seen and may never get a chance to go to again."

At first, everything was fine. Towards the end of the week, though, she said alarm bells started going off--literally and in her head.

Sonia Delgado, daughter and friend in Israel. Courtesy of Sonia Delgado.

"It felt like something hit very close that night when we were sheltering", she said. So the next day, Delgado did everything she could to get out of the country. The airspace was closed, though.  

"I felt extra pressure because, you know, of what I was putting my family through," Delgaot said.

Delgado struggled to find information on how to get out of Israel, she said. She reached out to State Rep. Long Tran. He was able to connect her with a Florida-based charity, Gray Bull, that has gotten more than 700 people out of the country this month.

The nonprofit used funding from Florida's state government to move Delgado's group and 300 other people to Jordan and then Cypress before finally getting them to Tampa.

"Just relishing in how lucky I am, how thankful I am," Delgado said.

Dig deeper:

Rep. Tran said he's in contact with 20 more families stuck in Israel. He wants Georgia to use part of this year's budget surplus to fund getting them home.

"We're not in session right now, so we can't appropriate funds like we normally would, but I think there are mechanisms we can use to help families who can't afford to pay private security to get them home," said Tran.

Since the escalation in recent weeks, the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory to Israel, and for Americans traveling anywhere abroad. 

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