United States | Israel travel advisory Level 4; US government employees directed to shelter in place

The State Department raised its travel advisory for Israel to Level 4. The U.S. Embassy Jerusalem issued a security alert on June 16 directing all U.S. government employees and their families to continue to shelter in place in and near their residences until further notice. The embassy is currently not able to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.

Key Points:

• Level 4 is the highest travel advisory category, warning U.S. citizens to not travel to specified countries or regions. The advisory also applies to the West Bank and Gaza.
• The conflict between Israel and Iran has escalated in recent weeks, leading to increased security concerns and prompting the U.S. government to issue this advisory.
• The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv will be closed Tuesday, June 17 and until further notice. Emergency and regular passports and other consular services, including visa services, will not be available.
• Ben Gurion Airport remains closed with no operational commercial or charter flights. Israeli seaports are also closed until further notice.
• For the latest security updates and to facilitate Embassy contact in case of an emergency, U.S. citizens should enroll in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) if they have not already done so.
• Regularly monitoring the State Department’s travel advisories for Israel, the West Bank, Gaza is advised.
• The security alert provides additional actions to take and resources to help in response to security incidents including information on land crossings to Jordan and Egypt.

Additional Information: On June 14, the Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of family members and non-emergency U.S. government employees. Given the complex and constantly changing security environment, the U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens of the continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness. Because security incidents often take place without any warning, U.S. citizens should know the location of the nearest shelter in the event of a “red alert” during which mortar, rocket, missile fire and unmanned aircraft system intrusions can occur.

BAL will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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