Five weeks ago, Palm Harbor teenager Paige Weiss boarded a flight for Israel and joined dozens of other high school students from across the country for the trip of a lifetime.

"I just felt like I needed to go and learn about the culture and just experience it," Weiss said.

Weiss is participating in the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program, which has 170 students from North America. 

Weiss said she and her peers are far enough north from the conflict with Hamas that she feels safe. She even said the group has gotten used to the sirens that warn of incoming missiles. 

But the latest development has affected some of the students. Weiss said the FAA's ban on flights to Tel Aviv left her friend unable to return home to the U.S. on Tuesday.

"It's a little nerve-racking because you never really think you're not going to get out of a country," Weiss said. "It is scary hearing that."

But Weiss is confident she will be able to board her own flight out next Tuesday and in the meantime, said she knows the safety precautions are for her own good.

"Whatever decisions they're making, they're just trying to keep us safe," Weiss said. "Whatever decisions they make is for the best."