As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate, travel guidance has been issued for popular tourist destinations in the region.
According to euronews, UK and EU governments have already advised against all but essential travel to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories, while Yahoo News reports that the UK Foreign Office (FDCO) has also discouraged any travel to the area surrounding Gaza and Syria and Lebanon’s borders.
Other countries where travellers should exercise caution include:
Egypt
Egypt shares a border with both Israel and Gaza, and its government has been in talks over opening the Rafah border crossing to allow passage for Palestinians.
The FCDO has advised against all but essential travel to certain parts of the country, including North Sinai, the northern part of South Sinai, the eastern part of the Ismailiyah Governorate, the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, the Hala’ib Triangle and Bir Tawil Trapezoid, and anywhere within 20km of the Egyptian-Libyan border.
Although this means that much of the country is not safe to visit, there are currently no warnings in place for Egypt’s main tourist areas and airlines are operating as normal.
The FCDO does, however, urge travellers to remain vigilant at tourist and religious sites in Alexandria, where two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian tour guide were recently shot and killed by an Egyptian police office.
Jordan
Jordan shares a border with Israel, the West Bank, and Syria, and the FCDO recently updated its guidelines to advise against all but essential travel within 3km of Jordan’s border with Syria.
It has also warned that the border crossing between Israel and Jordan may close at short notice due to the conflict.
Despite this, most tourist areas in Jordan remain unaffected and flights to the Amman and Aqaba airports are operating as normal.
Türkiye
Travel to Türkiye has not been affected by the conflict, although the FCDO still warns against travel to anywhere within 10km of the country’s border with Syria and against all but essential travel to the Sirnak and the Hakkari provinces.
Cyprus
No guidance advising against travel to Cyprus has been issued, despite its close proximity to Israel.
