Minnesota man helping people escape Israel-Hamas war

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In the days following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Aswar Rahman felt the need to do something.

The University of Minnesota grad started The American Service, a humanitarian organization and non-profit dedicated to helping Ukrainian refugees find housing support and jobs.

In the wake of Hamas' horrific surprise attack in Israel, Aswar felt the same urge to help.

He spent the last week stationed at the airport in Tel Aviv, helping U.S. citizens get home by facilitating travel across the Jordanian border to get on flights out of Amman.

"We've been guaranteed by every government official we've spoken to that you will have safe passage, and we provide escorts to make sure that's the case," said Rahman.

The American Service has a free, full shuttle system set up to get people from the Israeli airport to the border crossing, which is about two hours away.

After spending time in the middle of a country in chaos, he said the devastation is palpable, but many of the people he spoke with want humanity to win-out in the end.

"In Israel right now, there's a lot of anger and pain, and you could feel it just walking through the streets of Tel Aviv... I feel like the only comparison I have is how we felt during 9/11," said Rahman.

Rahman says he doesn't have any additional trips to Israel planned, but he is helping coordinate trips for people from back home in Minnesota.