The White House announced that the US government will conduct evacuation flights to help Americans leave Israel as Israel prepares to escalate retaliation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Evacuation flights are expected to begin Friday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. The US government is arranging at least four charter flights a day from Israel, according to people with knowledge of the planning.

The announcement came as the White House confirmed that the death toll in the fighting now includes at least 27 Americans. The war has claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides since Hamas launched its attack on Israel

persistent

Saturday.

Fourteen American citizens in Israel are still missing. The White House has said a handful of Americans are among the dozens of people Hamas has taken hostage.

U.S. officials estimate that there are between 160,000 and 170,000 Americans in Israel, as residents, tourists or in some other capacity. An estimated 500 to 600 U.S. citizens are in Gaza, including people who have worked as humanitarian workers or visited relatives. Egypt and Israel have closed all exits from the blockaded area.

Some commercial airlines still fly to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, and ground routes are open to leave Israel. However, White House officials have expressed concern that these options may not be feasible or affordable for some Americans in Israel who want to leave.

US Secretary of State Antony

J.

Blinken visited Israel on Thursday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli citizens. He was accompanied by the Deputy Special Representative for Hostage Affairs, Steve Gillen, who will remain in Israel to support efforts to free the hostages.

Blinken said Thursday that Americans would continue to press regional countries for safe passage in and out of Gaza, which could help the hundreds of American citizens trapped in the blockaded enclave.

Israeli defense officials have not yet ordered a ground invasion of the affected area, but have considered the possibility. The army called

well more than

300,000 reservists in action in preparation.

Meanwhile, Chairman

Joe

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who arrived from Air Force 2 en route to Las Vegas,

Nevada,

Met

on

Thursday with senior administration officials to discuss efforts to protect the U.S., including the Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities, following the Hamas attacks in Israel.