Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon killed a United States citizen earlier this week as the Biden administration faced growing backlash for failing to evacuate Americans from the country, which is under intense assault from a military armed to the teeth by the U.S.
Hajj Kamel Ahmad Jawad was killed by an Israeli strike on Tuesday in his hometown of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, according to a statement from his family. Jawad was a resident of Dearborn, Michigan and a constituent of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Kamel Ahmad Jawad died in Israel's recent airstrikes in Lebanon. Via Facebook"In his last days, he chose to stay near the main hospital in Nabatieh to help the elderly, disabled, injured, and those who simply couldn't financially afford to flee," Jawad's family said. "He served as their guardian, provided them with food, mattresses, and other comforts, and anonymously paid off their debts."
The Biden White House confirmed Jawad's death in a statement Wednesday—but did not acknowledge that an Israeli strike killed him.
"We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad and our hearts go out to his family and friends," said a White House spokesperson. "His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon."
Earlier Wednesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said it is "our understanding that [Jawad] was a legal permanent resident, not an American citizen"—a statement contradicted by Jawad's family and Tlaib's office, which told Reuters he was a U.S. citizen.
"His life is one of over 50,000 lost at the hands of Israeli aggression across the Middle East," Jawad's family said. "The fact that he was an American citizen should not make his story more important than others."
More than 1,000 people—roughly a quarter of them women and children—have been killed by Israeli attacks on Lebanon since mid-September. The U.S. has backed Israel's assault on Lebanon and sent additional troops to the region to bolster its Israeli ally.
As Israeli forces continue to pummel Beirut and proceed with their ground invasion, the Biden administration has faced outrage for failing to swiftly evacuate U.S. citizens from Lebanon; thousands of Americans live and work in the country.
While other countries—including Germany, China, and Canada—have moved to evacuate their citizens from the country, the U.S. has been accused of lagging behind.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the administration has been working over the past several days "to make seats available or to find seats available on existing commercial flights."
"We have been able to identify over 800 seats over that time," said Miller. "A number of them have been used by American citizens... Not in all cases have they been filled. And then today we were able to organize a flight from Beirut to Istanbul to allow other American citizens to leave."
In a social media post late Wednesday, Tlaib said her office has "been desperately trying to help" 148 residents from her district evacuate Lebanon. Zeteo noted that Tlaib said in an Instagram video that it is a "disgrace" that her staff has had to "beg" the Biden administration to help evacuate her constituents.
Americans in Lebanon can't get out and are under attack by American bombs, while somehow China has managed to evacuate its citizens pic.twitter.com/BTSsIt6H4T
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) October 2, 2024
"One of my constituents was already killed in an Israeli airstrike," said Tlaib, referring to Jawad. "The State Department is leaving Americans behind and failing to protect their own citizens."
One American citizen identified as Karam told Al Jazeera that she "called the U.S. embassy in Beirut for help fleeing the violence," but "was told to find a way out of the country by herself," the outlet reported.
"Karam, who chose to be identified by her nickname out of fear of retaliation, drew a contrast with how the US State Department swiftly chartered special flights and a ship to evacuate American citizens in Israel after Hamas' October 7 attack last year," Al Jazeera noted.
"Americans of Lebanese descent have been treated as lesser U.S. citizens than Israeli U.S. citizens," she said. "It is as if we don't exist." Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement and a Lebanese American, said Wednesday that U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have "repeatedly" turned down requests to meet with Americans like him who have family members in Lebanon.
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