INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Israel’s consul general to the Midwest on Tuesday told News 8 his country is working with the U.S. embassy to help Americans in that country get home. The State Department on Monday said Americans in 14 Middle Eastern countries, including Israel and the Palestinian t erritories, should leave immediately via commercial means due to serious safety risks. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee posted on X Americans who want to leave Israel have few options. Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, is still closed. Huckabee said the best option is to take buses run by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism to the border crossing at Taba, Egypt. Israeli Consul General Elad Strohmayer on Tuesday told News 8 that everyone in the Middle East should return to their home country, whether that is another Middle East country or somewhere else in the world, such as the United States. He said Israeli officials are working closely with the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem to help Americans get to land border crossings or to help them get flights home when and if Ben Gurion reopens. Strohmayer said it’s hard to say how many Americans are in his country right now because many have dual Israeli-American citizenship. Strohmayer said Israeli intelligence indicated the Iranians were moving their nuclear facilities underground. He said if the Israelis or Americans had waited much longer to attack, their only option would have been a ground assault. He said everything is going according to plan and he hopes the Iranian people will be able to seize the opportunity to overthrow the current regime. “This is an evolving situation and we also need to remember the people there only get their media through state media, state propaganda,” he said. “We took down the infrastructure of the state TV, so hopefully people will get more accurate information and not propaganda, and will go to the streets.” Strohmayer also responded to anti-war protests that have been held across the United States, including two small demonstrations in Indianapolis. “I’m asking myself, who are you supporting? Are you supporting the ayatollah? Are you supporting the regime that oppresssed these people?” he said. “Where were these demonstrators here in the United States just last month when Iran oppressed and butchered thousands of its people. They didn’t go to the streets.” In the meantime, Strohmayer said Americans stuck in the Middle East should follow the instructions of local authorities regarding their safety. “In Israel, we are very experienced in this situation. There are shelters, safe rooms everywhere. We have advanced warning. When you have warning in Israel, it’s not 30 seconds,” he said. ...read more read less