The United States has urged its citizens to defer their non-essential travel to Israel and the West Bank in view of the ongoing hostilities in Gaza.
“The Department of State recommends that US citizens consider the deferral of non-essential travel to Israel and the West Bank and reaffirms the longstanding strong warning to US citizens against any travel to the Gaza Strip,” the State Department had said yesterday.
Noting that the security environment remains complex in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, the travel advisory said US citizens need to be aware of the risks of travel to these areas because of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel.
“The Department of State continues its longstanding strong warning to US citizens against travel to the Gaza Strip; US government employees are not allowed to conduct official or personal travel there,” it said.
In light of the ongoing rocket attacks, US citizen visitors to and US citizen residents of Israel and the West Bank should familiarise themselves with the location of the nearest bomb shelter or other hardened site, if available, it said.
Travellers should avoid areas of Israel in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip due to the real risks presented by small arms fire, anti-tank weapons, rockets, and mortars, as attacks from Gaza can come with little or no warning, it said.