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The State Department is allowing non-essential personnel working at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to leave Israel ahead of possible attacks on Iran. The embassy announced the decision early Friday morning, saying it could impose further restrictions on where U.S. government officials can travel within Israel “in response to security incidents and without notice.”
The decision came after meetings and phone calls throughout the night from Thursday to Friday, he said The New York Timeswhich reviewed a copy of an email that US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sent to embassy officials.
The Times reported that the ambassador said in his email that the move was the result of “an abundance of caution” and that those who want to leave “should do so TODAY.” He reportedly urged them to look for flights from Ben Gurion Airport to any destination, warning that the embassy move “is likely to result in high demand for airline seats today.”
The US has allowed non-essential embassy staff to leave Israel amid escalating tensions with Iran. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Iranian leader news agency/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the email, Huckabee also said there was “no need to panic” but emphasized that those who want to leave should “make plans to leave sooner rather than later,” the Times reported.
“Focus on getting a seat anywhere from where you can then continue to DC, but the first priority will be to get out of the country quickly,” Huckabee said in the email, according to the Times.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to become ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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The embassy reiterated the State Department’s advice to U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Israel and the West Bank “due to terrorism and civil unrest.” In addition, the department recommended that U.S. citizens not travel to Gaza due to terrorism and armed conflict, nor to northern Israel, especially within 2.5 miles of the Lebanese and Syrian borders due to “ongoing military presence and activity.”
It also recommended that U.S. citizens not travel within 1.5 miles of the Egyptian border, with the exception of the Taba crossing, which remains open.
“Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue to plot potential attacks on Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping centers and local government facilities,” the embassy said in its warning. “The security environment is complex and can change rapidly, and violence can occur without warning in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.”
Israeli and American flags are placed on the road leading to the American consulate in the Jewish neighborhood of Arnona, on the East-West Jerusalem Line in Jerusalem, May 9, 2018. (Corinna Kern/photo alliance via Getty Images)
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While the embassy did not specifically mention Iran in its warning, it referred to “heightened regional tensions” that “could result in airlines canceling and/or restricting flights to and from Israel.”
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