Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on June 18, 2025
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is working to evacuate U.S. citizens wishing to leave Israel by arranging flights and cruise ship departures, U.S. ambassador Mike Huckabee said in a post on X on Wednesday, as fears mount of further military escalation between Iran and Israel.
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem was working on the evacuation arrangements, Huckabee said, urging Americans in the country to sign up for updates through the State Department's Smart Traveler program.
"Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel @usembassyjlm is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures. You must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)," Huckabee wrote.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear how many Americans were seeking to depart Israel or whether the U.S. military would assist with the evacuation flights.
U.S. President Donald Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the five-day-old war between Iran and Israel to suggesting the United States might join it.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, of which 40 have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk and Ryan Patrick Jones in Washington; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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