is it safe to travel to israel

To learn more about the guidelines about travel to Israel - click here

ISRAEL TRAVEL ALERTS & SAFETY INFORMATION

During these challenging times, we in Israel stand together with you, the American people, offering our prayers and support, united in the hope for a brighter, better tomorrow.

ISRAEL TRAVEL ALERTS & SAFETY INFORMATION

In order to remain fully informed, below is the updated information about the ongoing situation in Israel with regard to the CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19).

LATEST INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS TO ISRAEL ON THE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19):

Tourists looking to travel to israel:.

At the moment, and until further notice, entry to Israel will be refused to non-citizens or non-residents of Israel arriving from anywhere in the world. In exceptional cases, one may apply for approval of the Foreign Ministry subject to proof of the ability to remain in self-isolation for 14 days.

Tourists who are currently in Israel:

• Visitors who are currently in Israel will not be allowed to continue with their planned visit and are requested to stay in their hotel and plan their departure from Israel as soon as possible.
• For now, hotels will continue operating according to the new regulations. This means, no more than 10 people in one area and maintaining a safe distance of 6.5 feet (two-meters) between each person.
• If you’ve been required to enter self-isolation , you must report it to the Ministry of Health:   https://govforms.gov.il/
• If you develop a fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, a cough, trouble breathing, or other respiratory symptoms, you must immediately enter self-isolation and call the 101 MDA Emergency Services Hotline for medical advice.
• It is absolutely forbidden to enter clinics or hospitals if you are showing any of the above symptoms!

General guidelines for all those staying in Israel:

• For the latest information on coronavirus cases in Israel, please refer to the Department of Health's website .
• The Israeli Government is monitoring the outbreak closely and has implemented temporary measures including border restrictions for travelers from around the world.
• Commercial establishments and entertainment venues will be closed including:
• Shopping malls (except for supermarkets, pharmacies, and places that provide TA food services)
• Discos, bars, pubs, and dining establishments, including hotel dining (excluding TA food services)
• Banquet halls
• Gyms and swimming pools, water parks, zoo, safaris, petting zoos
• Ritual baths (men), and bathhouses
• Cinemas, theaters, and other cultural establishments
• Amusement facilities and amusement parks
• Businesses for non-medical treatment of the human body
• Exhibition halls and fairgrounds
• Public boats
• Heritage sites
• Prayer and religious ceremonies can be conducted in groups of up to 10 people, with 6.5 feet (2 meters) between people and no more than 2 groups at a time.
• Prohibition of visits to welfare, nursing, or healthcare facilities serving as homes for their residents, with the exception of a maximum of one caregiver, preferably a permanent caregiver.
• Regarding visits to hospitals and institutions:
• Visits to hospitals and senior facilities should be avoided.
• If a caregiver is needed, one caregiver must suffice.
• People showing symptoms are not permitted to accompany patients or visit institutions for seniors.
• Medical staff responsible for treating patients can only gather for work purposes in groups not to exceed 15 people.
• Seniors and patients: It is recommended for those aged 60 and over and those with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disease or immunosuppression, avoid crowds and contact with people who have returned from any destination abroad, those who show symptoms, or people who are suspected of being infected, while maintaining their routine.

Public transport: The Ministry of Health recommends avoiding public transport.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• I am a tourist in Israel and I am concerned that I may have COVID-19, where should I go?

If you have a fever of 100.4F (38C) or higher, cough, trouble breathing, or other respiratory symptoms, you must immediately enter self-isolation and call the 101 MDA Emergency Services Hotline for medical advice. Do not go to an HMO clinic or emergency ward.

• I already have a trip booked for April and May, should I cancel my reservations?

At the moment, entry to Israel will be refused to non-citizens or non-residents of Israel arriving from anywhere in the world. In exceptional cases, one may apply for approval of the Foreign Ministry subject to proof of the ability to remain in self-isolation for 14 days.

• Are there any tourist sites, museums, institutes, and/or cultural spaces closed? Are restaurants and bars operating as normal?

Currently, commercial establishments and entertainment venues are closed. Please see the above list for details and exceptions.

• Are any upcoming events or conferences canceled? If so, which ones?

No events of more than 10 people are permitted in Israel.

• Will upcoming religious ceremonies still take place as regularly scheduled (Passover, Easter, etc.)?

Prayer and religious ceremonies can be conducted in groups of up to 10 people, keeping 6.5 feet (2 meters) from one person to another and no more than 2 groups at a time.

• What are the restrictions regarding local travel throughout the country?

The Ministry of Health recommends avoiding public transport.

No gatherings of more than 10 people are permitted.

• When will Israel be open to incoming visitors again? At this moment there is not a known date in which Israel will be open to incoming visitors.

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COVID-19: travel health notice for all travellers

Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip travel advice

Latest updates: Entry and exit requirements – added information on the ETA-IL

Last updated: June 6, 2024 06:38 ET

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Safety and security, entry and exit requirements, laws and culture, natural disasters and climate, israel - avoid non-essential travel.

Avoid non-essential travel to Israel due to the ongoing regional armed conflict and the unpredictable security situation..

West Bank - AVOID ALL TRAVEL

This advisory excludes the following areas where you should avoid non-essential travel:

• Route 90, from the intersection with highway 1 to King Hussein Bridge (Allenby), near Jericho
• Route 443 between Jerusalem and Modi’in

Gaza Strip - AVOID ALL TRAVEL

Israel has expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

If you are in the Gaza Strip, shelter in a secure place until it’s safe for you to leave. We understand that there are connectivity problems in the Gaza Strip. If possible, try to register or update your personal information through the Registration of Canadians Abroad service to receive the latest information about departure options. If you are unable to do so, try to contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre .

The Government of Canada’s ability to provide consular services in the Gaza Strip is severely limited.

Jerusalem - Avoid non-essential travel

Avoid non-essential travel to Jerusalem due to the volatile security situation.

Border with Syria - Avoid all travel

This advisory excludes the following cities where you should exercise a high degree of caution:

• Buq’ata
• Majdal Shams
• Mas’ada

Border with Egypt - Avoid all travel

Avoid all travel to within 5 km of the border with Egypt due to the volatile security situation.

Border with Lebanon - Avoid all travel

Avoid all travel to to the area within 5 kilometres of the border with Lebanon due to ongoing military operations.

Border with the Gaza Strip - Avoid all travel

Avoid all travel to within 5km of the border with the Gaza Strip due to the risk of rocket and mortar fire, gunfire and military activity.

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Heightened risk of attacks on Israeli territory

Following recent developments in the region, there is a heightened risk of attacks on Israeli territory. The regional security situation remains highly volatile and could escalate escalate at any time.

Drone, rocket and missile attacks occur regularly between Israel and armed groups in neighboring countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

On April 13, 2024, Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israeli territory, contributing to a significant escalation of tensions in the region.

These attacks can lead to air transportation disruptions due to sudden and prolonged airspace closures. Military interceptions can also cause collateral damage.

If you are in Israel or the West Bank:

• monitor local and international media to stay informed of the rapidly evolving situation
• identify the location of the closest bomb shelter, if available
• if there are no bomb shelters nearby, shelter in a hardened structure away from windows when air raid warning sirens are active
• follow the advice of local authorities, including air-raid sirens and evacuation orders

Ongoing hostilities in Israel and the Gaza Strip

The security situation remains volatile and unpredictable in Israel and the Gaza Strip as hostilities persist between Israel’s military and Gaza-based terrorist groups.

Israeli ground operations and air strikes are expected to continue throughout the Gaza Strip. Missiles and rockets continue to be fired from Gaza towards central and southern Israel.

Military operations in the Gaza Strip pose a risk to civilians, even where they take shelter. Damage to infrastructure has affected communication networks in the Gaza Strip, including the internet.

Violent clashes persist along the border between Israel and Lebanon, including daily rocket and missile fire as well as air strikes. You should avoid all travel within 5 kilometres of the border with Lebanon.

Tensions and violence in the West Bank

Tensions and violence are high in the West Bank. Frequent military operations throughout the West Bank can lead to casualties, including bystanders, and can result in clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians, as well as retaliatory attacks.

Extremist Israeli settler violence occurs frequently. There are reports of civilians being attacked, forced under threat to leave their houses or evacuate specific areas. Individuals of Palestinian or Arab descent may be subject to increased scrutiny, detention, and arrest. Israeli checkpoints have increased in number throughout the West Bank. Personal electronic devices may be searched at Israeli military checkpoints, including flying checkpoints. You, your friends, and your family members could face detention, arrest, and/or the suspension or withdrawal of your official permits if you share information deemed to be inaccurate and sensitive by Israel. This includes content shared on social media. Refrain from discussing political views online and be conscious of local laws related to internet use.

If you're in or near an affected area in Israel, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip:

• assess if you are currently in a safe location
• shelter in place if you can’t leave the area safely
• limit your movements
• remain extremely cautious
• monitor local and international media to get the latest information
• try to keep your phone charged
• follow the instructions of local authorities

Canada’s response to the crisis in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

Assisted departure options

Canada continues to offer assistance to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members in Gaza.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and their eligible family members, currently in Gaza and wishing to leave should contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre .

Canadian officials put forward names of Canadians and permanent residents, as well as their eligible family members, to the responsible authorities for approval to exit the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. Global Affairs Canada will contact individual Canadians and permanent residents, as well as their eligible family members, when their request to leave has been approved. Global Affairs Canada does not ultimately decide who can leave Gaza.

If you are seeking to leave the Gaza Strip:

• Keep your travel documents and personal belongings with you at all times
• Be ready to travel to the border crossing on short notice

The situation at the Rafah border crossing remains unpredictable. You should assess the safety risks for you and your family members before travelling.

Due to infrastructure damage, there could be connectivity problems in the Gaza Strip. If possible, try to register or update your personal information through the Registration of Canadians Abroad service to receive the latest information about departure options. If you are unable to do so, try to contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre .

If you're a family member of a Canadian citizen or of a permanent resident who is currently in Gaza, the West Bank or Israel and is unable to register through the Registration of Canadians Abroad service , please contact Global Affairs Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre .

Border operations

Due to recent events in Israel, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, operations at all land borders may be affected by limited authorized daily crossings, reduced hours or closure on short notice. Israeli authorities may also unexpectedly close checkpoints in the West Bank.

You should verify the status of the border crossings before you travel, if you’re planning to cross the following borders:

• Israel/Jordan
• Israel/Egypt
• West Bank/Jordan
• Gaza Strip/Egypt

Naval blockade

The security situation along the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip remains dangerous. The Israeli Navy regularly patrols the area and the Israeli security forces continue to intercept attempts to breach Israel’s naval blockade.

These incidents have resulted in:

• deportations

In cases of deportation, local authorities are not obliged to notify the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv nor the Representative Office of Canada in Ramallah.  As a result, Canadian officials may not be able to provide you with consular assistance. 

• Avoid travelling to the Gaza Strip 
• Don’t attempt to break the naval blockade 

Border areas

Border areas with Israel are particularly dangerous and heavily guarded. Landmines are present in certain areas along Israel’s borders. Some minefields have not been clearly marked or fenced. 

Militant activity close to the Israeli barrier in the Golan Heights makes the area extremely dangerous and unstable.

Despite the United Nations-monitored buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, cross-border gunfire and rocket fires occur with little or no warning. The Israel Defence Forces also conduct military operations in the area, including air strikes.

• Don’t approach the Israeli barrier along the border with Syria in the Golan Heights
• Monitor local media for information on the latest incidents
• Don’t travel east of Highway 98 except to the following cities: 
• Buq’ata 
• Mas’ada 
• Majdal 
• Ghajar 

Egypt 

The border area with Egypt is dangerous due to military operations and smuggling activities.

The Israeli Defence Forces regularly patrols the area to intercept drug smugglers resulting in frequent armed clashes.

The security situation can also deteriorate rapidly due to instability and the risk of terrorist attacks in northern Sinai.

Don’t drive on: 

• south of the intersection of highways 10 and 12
• between Eilat and the Netafim passage

The highways are subject to closure by Israeli authorities without warning.

If you’re planning to travel near the border with Egypt despite this advisory:

• expect roadblocks and checkpoints
• be aware of your surroundings  
• monitor local media to determine where military activity is occurring  

Lebanon 

There is no official international border between Israel and Lebanon. The United Nations observe the “Blue Line,” which separates the two countries, in addition to a fence constructed by Israel on its side of the Blue line. There are sporadic clashes between Israeli and Lebanese armies patrolling along the Blue line.

Landmines are present in the area.

Terrorist groups based in southern Lebanon have fired several rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel, resulting in retaliatory air strikes by the Israel Defence Forces. Further incidents could occur without notice.

Rockets fired from Lebanon have targeted areas near several cities in northern Israel, including:

• Kiryat Shmona

There are ongoing military operations in the following areas:

• Kfar Shouba Hills
• Shebaa Farms

If you choose to travel near the border with Lebanon despite this advisory:

• remain cautious at all times
• monitor local media for any active security alerts
• follow the advice of local authorities

Confrontations and clashes can occur in areas of Jerusalem, including parts of the Old City. Jerusalem has also seen an increased number of terrorist attacks targeting civilians.

During periods of imposed movement restrictions and on religious holidays, exacerbated tensions can lead to security incidents.

There are periodic clashes near the Al-Aqsa Mosque Mosque on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, especially during Ramadan.

• Avoid travel to the Old City during periods of exacerbated tensions
• Travel in groups
• Always dress conservatively

The situation remains unpredictable in the West Bank. Tensions have increased in various areas. Violent clashes between Israeli settlers, Palestinians and Israeli defence and security forces frequently occur. Incidents of violence often occur along major roadways and intersections where passing vehicles may be subject to random stops at checkpoints or targeted with stone-throwing and other forms of vandalism.

There are multiple Israeli military checkpoints throughout the West Bank, where there is a greater threat of violent confrontations. Areas in the vicinity of the barrier separating Israel and the West Bank are particularly high-risk.

Due to recent events in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, local authorities may close or restrict access to checkpoints without notice.

Frequent Israeli security operations target individuals in cities and villages throughout the West Bank. There is risk of injury to bystanders during these operations. These incidents occur most frequently in: 

• Hebron 
• Jenin 
• Nablus 

Although violence is usually not common in the cities of Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah, there is an increase in violent incidents, especially clashes involving Palestinians, Israeli settlers, the Israeli Security Forces and the Palestinian Authority security forces. 

If you are travelling to the West Bank despite the advisory in effect:

• consider alternate travel arrangements in case of a rapid deterioration in the security situation
• avoid travelling at night
• monitor local and international media
• follow the advice of local authorities 
• register and maintain contact with the Representative Office of Canada in Ramallah 

Politically motivated violence

Politically motivated violence occurs regularly throughout Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  

Previous incidents resulting in injuries and deaths include: 

• stabbings  
• mob violence
• vehicle ramming  
• stone-throwing at vehicles  

During your stay:

• Be aware of your surroundings at all times 
• Monitor news reports
• Follow the instructions of local authorities

Terrorism 

There is a threat of terrorism. In the past few years, there has been an increase in deadly attacks targeting civilians throughout Israel. 

Terrorist incidents causing numerous deaths and injuries have occurred in a variety of locations, including: 

• Beersheba 
• Eilat 
• Haifa 
• Jerusalem 
• Netanya 
• Tel Aviv 

Further attacks are likely. 

Targets could include: 

• government buildings, including schools 
• places of worship 
• airports and other transportation hubs and networks 
• public areas such as tourist attractions, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shopping centres,markets, hotels and other sites frequented by foreigners 

Always be aware of your surroundings when in public places. Be particularly vigilant during:

•  sporting events
•  public celebrations
• religious holidays, such as:
• Rosh Hashanah 
• Yom Kippur 
• Pesach (Passover) 
• Ramadan 

Terrorists may use such occasions to mount attacks. 

Rocket fire

Cities across Israel may be targeted by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip or from Lebanon. 

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have reached Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and have also struck close to Haifa, located approximately 150 km north of the Gaza Strip border. 

The crime rate is relatively low in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Despite an important presence of security personnel in major cities, petty crime may still occur in urban and touristic areas and on beaches. There have been reports of:

• pickpocketing
• purse snatching
• theft of passports, credit cards and other valuables

There’s an increase in car thefts.

• make sure that your belongings, including your passport and other travel documents, are secure at all times
• make sure that your wallet, money and valuables are out of sight, particularly in crowded tourist areas 
• avoid carrying large amounts of cash 
• avoid showing signs of affluence 
• don’t leave luggage or valuables in a vehicle and always park your vehicle in secure facilities 
• keep your car doors locked and windows closed at all times 

Fraud  

Credit card and ATM fraud may occur. Be cautious when using debit or credit cards: 

• pay careful attention when your cards are being handled by others 
• use ATMs located in well-lit public areas or inside a bank or business 
• avoid using card readers with an irregular or unusual feature 
• cover the keypad with one hand when entering your PIN 
• check for any unauthorized transactions on your account statements 

Cybercrime occurs. Online scams and investment fraud against individuals are on the rise in Israel. 

• Avoid using unsecured public Wi-Fi networks 
• Avoid making purchases on unencrypted websites 
• Be wary of unsolicited emails offering enticing business 
• Never click a suspicious link in an email or text message asking for your credit card details 

Overseas fraud

Demonstrations and strikes

Planned and unplanned demonstrations occur regularly.

Demonstrators frequently gather across Israel to express opposition to the government in place. These demonstrations and strikes often result in disruptions to services and public transportation. They sometimes lead to violent incidents, such as vandalism and clashes between demonstrators and police. Security forces sometimes use tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds.

Even peaceful demonstrations can turn violent at any time. They can also lead to disruptions to traffic and public transportation.

• Avoid areas where demonstrations and large gatherings are taking place 
• Follow the instructions of local authorities 
• Monitor local media for information on ongoing demonstrations 

Mass gatherings (large-scale events)

Outages 

Service outages are frequent in the Gaza Strip. This includes disruptions in: 

• telecommunications, including phones and Internet 
• power  
• water services 

Women’s safety

Women travelling alone may be subject to some forms of harassment and verbal abuse.  

Advice for women travellers

Water activities 

Coastal waters can be dangerous. Tidal changes and strong winds can cause dangerous riptides.  

• Never swim alone
• Always obey warning flags at beaches 
• Keep a safe distance from boats and restricted areas 
• Avoid visiting beaches or coastal areas during periods of severe weather warnings 
• Look out for signs warning of cliff erosion and falling rocks 
• Follow the advice of the local authorities 

Useful links

• Rules of behavior on the beach – Israeli Ministry of Interior 
• Water safety abroad

Road safety 

Road safety can vary considerably in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  

Road conditions  

Although most roads in Israel are in good condition, many roads in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are in poor condition.

During the winter months, precipitation can cause difficult driving conditions and road closures across the territory. 

Driving may also be dangerous due to:

• traffic jams and heavy traffic
• narrow, winding and mountainous roads
• flash floods in some regions

Driving habits  

There is a high rate of road accidents due to dangerous driving habits across the territory. Drivers often drive at excessive speed and don’t always respect the right of way, especially in roundabouts.

It’s mandatory to have a high visibility vest and a warning triangle kit in your car. If you must stop on the side of the road and get out of your car, you must wear the vest and use the triangles according to the safety instructions provided.

If you plan to drive: 

• always drive defensively
• plan your trip in advance, especially if you are visiting a rural area 
• always carry a cell phone and charger 
• familiarize yourself with the route before you travel  

Checkpoints 

There are security checkpoints across the territory, mainly in the West Bank.

The Israel Defence Forces control access to the West Bank through a series of security checkpoints and the Palestinian Authority police may do so within their jurisdiction. Following incidents of politically motivated violence, the government of Israel may also establish additional checkpoints without warning and increase the intensity of vehicle checks. Additional measures may include frequent and extended closures of checkpoints at the discretion of Israeli Security Forces.

Officers may ask to see your valid documents. There is no guarantee that you may pass through security checkpoints even if you have a valid visa and authorization to enter.

During periods of religious holidays, checkpoint and border-crossing hours of operation are subject to change.

If travelling by car during your stay: 

• expect multiple roadblocks and checkpoints
• be prepared to present your identification documents 
• don’t pass through checkpoints without stopping, even if they appear unattended 
• follow instructions of police or military officers if you get stopped

Public transportation

Buses .

The bus system is reliable. However, violent incidents occur occasionally in public buses and at bus stops. Attacks have resulted in deaths and injuries in the past.  

If you’re travelling by bus during your stay: 

• be aware of your surroundings at all times 
• stay behind bollards or behind the bus stop while waiting
• stand away from large groups of people 
• notify the driver of any suspicious objects or persons   

Trains 

The train network is extensive. It covers most of the territory and links major cities, such as Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip and some parts of the West Bank are not covered. In order to access train stations, you will have to pass a security check.

Trains in Israel are generally modern, clean and frequent.

If you’re travelling by train:

• be vigilant
• avoid travelling alone at night
• allow extra time to go through security checks
• validate your ticket to avoid fines

Taxis 

Taxis are generally reliable in Israel and the West Bank.  

In the West Bank, taxis are the easiest way of moving around.

Mobile applications are also available. 

If you’re taking a taxi:

• never use shared taxis
• negotiate the fare in advance

We do not make assessments on the compliance of foreign domestic airlines with international safety standards.

Information about foreign domestic airlines

new_entry_requirement

New entry requirement

Starting July 1, 2024, travellers from visa-exempt countries, including Canada, will need to obtain an ETA-IL (electronic travel authorization). You should submit your electronic application at least 72 hours before your expected arrival date in Israel.

If your ETA-IL application is approved, you can enter Israel and stay for a period of up to 90 days.

ETA-IL – Israeli Population and Immigration Administration

Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on your behalf if you do not meet your destination’s entry or exit requirements.

We have obtained the information on this page from the authorities of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It can, however, change at any time.

Verify this information with the  Foreign Representatives in Canada .

Entry requirements vary depending on the type of passport you use for travel.

Before you travel, check with your transportation company about passport requirements. Its rules on passport validity may be more stringent than the country’s entry rules.

Regular Canadian passport

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the date you expect to leave Israel, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.

Passport for official travel

Different entry rules may apply.

Official travel

Passport with “X” gender identifier

While the Government of Canada issues passports with an “X” gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries. You might face entry restrictions in countries that do not recognize the “X” gender identifier. Before you leave, check with the closest foreign representative for your destination.

Other travel documents

Different entry rules may apply when travelling with a temporary passport or an emergency travel document. Before you leave, check with the closest foreign representative for your destination.

• Foreign Representatives in Canada
• Canadian passports

Tourist visa: not required for stays up to 90 days Business visa: not required Student visa: not required Work visa: required

The Government of Israel issues an entry card on arrival.

You will need your entry card to enter the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Keep it in a secure place to avoid complications upon leaving Israel.

Land travel restrictions

The Government of Israel tightly controls checkpoint crossings within the West Bank and to the Gaza Strip.

Security-related closures can severely restrict entry to and exit from these areas, even for persons possessing valid entry and exit permits.

 Large crowds may gather due to:

• limited hours of operations
• unannounced travel restrictions
• extended closures

This may increase risks to your personal safety.

Travel to and from West Bank

The West Bank is divided into three administrative divisions, which fall under varying degrees of administrative and security control between Palestinian and Israeli authorities.

Israel sets out the entry and exit requirements for the West Bank. In some circumstances, Israeli authorities may deny you entry into the West Bank.

You are required to obtain permits with strict conditions for: 

• short-term visits
• professional, academic or volunteering purposes
• temporary residence for spouses

These new procedures apply to all foreign nationals. As a result, you may need a specific type of visa to enter the West Bank based on your purpose of travel.

If you intend to travel to the West Bank:

• contact Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the closest Israeli embassy to find out which type of permit you need to apply for
• ensure that you have the proper and up-to-date identification, travel documentation and authorization to obtain your permit
• plan your visit accordingly and apply well in advance to avoid delays.
• Foreign diplomatic missions and consulates in Canada
• Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Travel to and from Gaza Strip

The Erez border crossing, controlled by Israel, is currently closed. There are no options other than the Rafah border crossing, controlled by Egypt, to enter or exit the Gaza Strip.

Due to the ongoing conflict, entry to and exit from the Gaza Strip is currently extremely limited.

Travel to and from Jordan

As a Canadian citizen, you may travel to and from Jordan through the following border crossings:

• Aqaba (Wadi Araba) near Eilat
• King Hussein Bridge (Allenby) near Jericho 
• Sheikh Hussein Bridge (crossing the Jordan River) near Beit She’an.

You may obtain a visa upon arrival at the following border crossings:

• Sheikh Hussein Bridge (crossing the Jordan River) between Israel and Jordan
• Aqaba (Wadi Araba)

You will need to obtain a visa online or from a Jordanian diplomatic mission prior to travelling if you’re planning on entering Jordan at the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby) border crossing. 

Dual citizenship

Israeli-canadians.

Canadians who were born outside Israel to a mother or father who is an Israeli citizen may be considered citizens of Israel.

Israeli law requires Israeli citizens to:

• enter and exit the country on an Israeli passport
• show proof of military status upon arrival

If you are unsure of your Israeli citizenship or your military status, verify it through the Embassy of Israel to Canada or an Israeli consulate before leaving Canada.

Palestinian-Canadians

As a Palestinian-Canadian citizen, you may be subject to Government of Israel travel regulations for Palestinians. Strict border control policies may prevent you from entering to and exiting from: 

• Israel 
• the West Bank 
• the Gaza Strip 

Anyone registered in the Government of Israel’s West Bank and Gaza Strip population registries, including Canadians of Palestinian descent born in the West Bank or Gaza after 1967, is prohibited from entering Israel through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

Israeli authorities are currently allowing only a limited number of Palestinians to enter into the West Bank via the Allenby Crossing (King Hussein Bridge). This rule may not apply to Palestinians with dual citizenship.

You may also be subject to Government of Israel travel regulations for Palestinians if you are a Canadian born in another Arab state or if you hold dual Canadian-Arab state citizenship.

Israeli authorities may then ask you to enter and exit Israel on your Arab passport.

If the place of birth listed on the traveller’s passport does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, travellers may be subject to increased security screening at points of entry, including extensive questioning, physical searches and/or denial of entry, which can involve temporary detention before removal.

Regional travel

Some Canadians have been denied entry into Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries because their passports bore:

• an Israeli visa
• an Israeli border stamp
•  an Egyptian or Jordanian border stamp issued by an office bordering Israel

Other entry requirement

Custom officials may ask to show a return or onward ticket as proof that you have sufficient funds to cover your stay.

• Children and travel

Learn more about travelling with children .

Yellow fever

Learn about potential entry requirements related to yellow fever (vaccines section).

Relevant Travel Health Notices

• Global Measles Notice - 13 March, 2024
• COVID-19 and International Travel - 13 March, 2024

This section contains information on possible health risks and restrictions regularly found or ongoing in the destination. Follow this advice to lower your risk of becoming ill while travelling. Not all risks are listed below.

Consult a health care professional or visit a travel health clinic preferably 6 weeks before you travel to get personalized health advice and recommendations.

Routine vaccines

Be sure that your  routine vaccinations , as per your province or territory , are up-to-date before travelling, regardless of your destination.

Some of these vaccinations include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, varicella (chickenpox), influenza and others.

Pre-travel vaccines and medications

You may be at risk for preventable diseases while travelling in this destination. Talk to a travel health professional about which medications or vaccines may be right for you, based on your destination and itinerary. 

Yellow fever is a disease caused by a flavivirus from the bite of an infected mosquito.

Travellers get vaccinated either because it is required to enter a country or because it is recommended for their protection.

• There is no risk of yellow fever in this country.

Country Entry Requirement*

• Proof of vaccination is not required to enter this country.

Recommendation

• Vaccination is not recommended.

* It is important to note that country entry requirements may not reflect your risk of yellow fever at your destination. It is recommended that you contact the nearest diplomatic or consular office of the destination(s) you will be visiting to verify any additional entry requirements.

About Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres in Canada

There is a risk of hepatitis A in this destination. It is a disease of the liver. People can get hepatitis A if they ingest contaminated food or water, eat foods prepared by an infectious person, or if they have close physical contact (such as oral-anal sex) with an infectious person, although casual contact among people does not spread the virus.

Practise  safe food and water precautions and wash your hands often. Vaccination is recommended for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It can spread quickly from person to person by direct contact and through droplets in the air.

Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk of being infected with it when travelling internationally.

Regardless of where you are going, talk to a health care professional before travelling to make sure you are fully protected against measles.

  Hepatitis B is a risk in every destination. It is a viral liver disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another through exposure to blood and body fluids containing the hepatitis B virus.  Travellers who may be exposed to blood or other bodily fluids (e.g., through sexual contact, medical treatment, sharing needles, tattooing, acupuncture or occupational exposure) are at higher risk of getting hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for all travellers. Prevent hepatitis B infection by practicing safe sex, only using new and sterile drug equipment, and only getting tattoos and piercings in settings that follow public health regulations and standards.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious viral disease. It can spread from person to person by direct contact and through droplets in the air.

It is recommended that all eligible travellers complete a COVID-19 vaccine series along with any additional recommended doses in Canada before travelling. Evidence shows that vaccines are very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. While vaccination provides better protection against serious illness, you may still be at risk of infection from the virus that causes COVID-19. Anyone who has not completed a vaccine series is at increased risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and is at greater risk for severe disease when travelling internationally.

Before travelling, verify your destination’s COVID-19 vaccination entry/exit requirements. Regardless of where you are going, talk to a health care professional before travelling to make sure you are adequately protected against COVID-19.

 The best way to protect yourself from seasonal influenza (flu) is to get vaccinated every year. Get the flu shot at least 2 weeks before travelling.  

 The flu occurs worldwide. 

•  In the Northern Hemisphere, the flu season usually runs from November to   April.
•  In the Southern Hemisphere, the flu season usually runs between April and   October.
•  In the tropics, there is flu activity year round. 

The flu vaccine available in one hemisphere may only offer partial protection against the flu in the other hemisphere.

The flu virus spreads from person to person when they cough or sneeze or by touching objects and surfaces that have been contaminated with the virus. Clean your hands often and wear a mask if you have a fever or respiratory symptoms.

In this destination, rabies  may be present in some wildlife species, including bats. Rabies is a deadly disease that spreads to humans primarily through bites or scratches from an infected animal. 

If you are bitten or scratched by an animal while travelling, immediately wash the wound with soap and clean water and see a health care professional. 

Before travel, discuss rabies vaccination with a health care professional. It may be recommended for travellers who will be working directly with wildlife. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified this country as no longer poliovirus-infected but at high risk of an outbreak . Polio can be prevented by vaccination.

Recommendations:

• Be sure that your polio vaccinations are up to date before travelling. Polio is part of the routine vaccine schedule for children in Canada.
• One booster dose of the polio vaccine is recommended as an adult .

Safe food and water precautions

Many illnesses can be caused by eating food or drinking beverages contaminated by bacteria, parasites, toxins, or viruses, or by swimming or bathing in contaminated water.

• Learn more about food and water precautions to take to avoid getting sick by visiting our eat and drink safely abroad page. Remember: Boil it, cook it, peel it, or leave it!
• Avoid getting water into your eyes, mouth or nose when swimming or participating in activities in freshwater (streams, canals, lakes), particularly after flooding or heavy rain. Water may look clean but could still be polluted or contaminated.
• Avoid inhaling or swallowing water while bathing, showering, or swimming in pools or hot tubs. 

Travellers' diarrhea is the most common illness affecting travellers. It is spread from eating or drinking contaminated food or water.

Risk of developing travellers' diarrhea increases when travelling in regions with poor standards of hygiene and sanitation. Practise safe food and water precautions.

The most important treatment for travellers' diarrhea is rehydration (drinking lots of fluids). Carry oral rehydration salts when travelling.

Typhoid   is a bacterial infection spread by contaminated food or water. Risk is higher among children, travellers going to rural areas, travellers visiting friends and relatives or those travelling for a long period of time.

Travellers visiting regions with a risk of typhoid, especially those exposed to places with poor sanitation, should speak to a health care professional about vaccination.  

Leptospirosis   is a bacterial disease that typically causes fever, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, skin rash and eye infection. The disease is spread through direct contact with urine from infected animals or with urine-contaminated water, soil, or food.

Leptospirosis is a risk in this country, especially when participating in freshwater activities (e.g., swimming, rafting), being in areas with poor sanitation, or having close contact with animals, especially rodents. Most travellers are at low risk. There is no vaccine available for leptospirosis.  Travellers at high risk may wish to consult a health care professional about pre-exposure antibiotics.

Insect bite prevention

Many diseases are spread by the bites of infected insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas or flies. When travelling to areas where infected insects may be present:

• Use insect repellent (bug spray) on exposed skin
• Cover up with light-coloured, loose clothes made of tightly woven materials such as nylon or polyester
• Minimize exposure to insects
• Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors or in buildings that are not fully enclosed

To learn more about how you can reduce your risk of infection and disease caused by bites, both at home and abroad, visit our insect bite prevention page.

Find out what types of insects are present where you’re travelling, when they’re most active, and the symptoms of the diseases they spread.

Animal precautions

Some infections, such as rabies and influenza, can be shared between humans and animals. Certain types of activities may increase your chance of contact with animals, such as travelling in rural or forested areas, camping, hiking, and visiting wet markets (places where live animals are slaughtered and sold) or caves.

Travellers are cautioned to avoid contact with animals, including dogs, livestock (pigs, cows), monkeys, snakes, rodents, birds, and bats, and to avoid eating undercooked wild game.

Closely supervise children, as they are more likely to come in contact with animals.

Person-to-person infections

Stay home if you’re sick and practise proper cough and sneeze etiquette , which includes coughing or sneezing into a tissue or the bend of your arm, not your hand. Reduce your risk of colds, the flu and other illnesses by:

•   washing your hands often
• avoiding or limiting the amount of time spent in closed spaces, crowded places, or at large-scale events (concerts, sporting events, rallies)
• avoiding close physical contact with people who may be showing symptoms of illness 

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) , HIV , and mpox are spread through blood and bodily fluids; use condoms, practise safe sex, and limit your number of sexual partners. Check with your local public health authority pre-travel to determine your eligibility for mpox vaccine.  

Medical services and facilities

The quality of medical care varies greatly throughout the destination. Very good health care is available in Israel and Jerusalem. Good health care is limited in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Medical facilities may lack of medical supplies and adequately trained professionals.

Medical treatment can be very expensive. Hospitals and doctors usually require immediate payment in cash.  

Make sure you get travel insurance that includes coverage for medical evacuation and hospital stays.

Travel health and safety

Medication 

Some prescription medication may not be available in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  

If you take prescription medication, you’re responsible for determining their legality at destination.

• Bring sufficient quantities of your medication with you 
• Always keep your medication in the original container 
• Pack your medication in your carry-on luggage 
• Carry a copy of your prescriptions 

Keep in Mind...

The decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the traveller. The traveller is also responsible for his or her own personal safety.

Be prepared. Do not expect medical services to be the same as in Canada. Pack a   travel health kit , especially if you will be travelling away from major city centres.

You must abide by local laws.

Learn about what you should do and how we can help if you are arrested or detained abroad .

Transfer to a Canadian prison

Canada and Israel are signatories to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. This enables a Canadian imprisoned in Israel to request a transfer to a Canadian prison to complete a sentence. The transfer requires the agreement of both Canadian and Israeli authorities.

This process can take a long time, and there is no guarantee that the transfer will be approved by either or both sides.

Penalties for possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs, are severe. Convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and fines.

Drugs, alcohol and travel

Alcohol 

Although alcohol consumption in public is illegal in the Gaza Strip, you can drink alcohol in certain areas in the West Bank.   Avoid drinking alcohol outside licensed premises in the West Bank.  

Photography 

Photography of sensitive installations is prohibited. This includes: 

• military sites 
• police personnel and installations  

Seek permission before taking photos of people in Muslim or Orthodox Jewish areas.  

Both Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Authority recognize dual citizenship.

However, foreign nationals naturalized citizens of Israel must forfeit their previous citizenship.   

If you are a Canadian citizen, but also a citizen of Israel, our ability to offer you consular services may be limited while you're there. You may also be subject to different entry/exit requirements.

Travellers with dual citizenship

International Child Abduction

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international treaty. It can help parents with the return of children who have been removed to or retained in certain countries in violation of custody rights. The convention applies between Canada and Israel.

If your child was wrongfully taken to, or is being held in Israel, and if the applicable conditions are met, you may apply for the return of your child to the Israeli court.

If you are in this situation:

• act as quickly as you can
• contact the Central Authority for your province or territory of residence for information on starting an application under The Hague Convention
• consult a lawyer in Canada and in Israel to explore all the legal options for the return of your child
• report the situation to the nearest Canadian government office abroad or to the Vulnerable Children's Consular Unit at Global Affairs Canada by calling the Emergency Watch and Response Centre

If your child was removed from a country other than Canada, consult a lawyer to determine if The Hague Convention applies.

Be aware that Canadian consular officials cannot interfere in private legal matters or in another country's judicial affairs.

• List of Canadian Central Authorities for the Hague Convention
• International Child Abductions: A guide for affected parents
• The Hague Convention – Hague Conference on Private International Law
• Canadian embassies and consulates by destination
• Request emergency assistance

Religious holidays

Some Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities' customs, laws and regulations adhere closely to religious practices and beliefs. 

Tensions between religious groups are higher during religious holidays and may lead to violence. 

There is a risk of assault if you travel by car in the Old City of Jerusalem and conservative neighbourhoods of Israel during Shabbat.

To avoid offending local sensitivities, especially during religious holidays:

• dress conservatively
• behave discreetly
• respect social and religious traditions
• seek permission from people and local authorities before taking photographs

2SLGBTQI+ travellers

Israel’s law doesn’t criminalize sexual acts or relationships between persons of the same sex.

However, 2SLGBTQI+ travellers could be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics.

The Gaza Strip’s law criminalizes sexual acts and relationships between persons of the same sex. 

2SLGBTQI+ travellers could be detained based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics. They may also be detained and face other charges such as: 

• cross-dressing
• gross indecency
• offence to public morals

2SLGBTQI+ travellers could face up to 10 years of imprisonment. They should carefully consider the risks of travelling to the Gaza Strip.

Travel and your sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics

You may drive in Israel using your Canadian driver’s license for up to 12 months.

Vehicles with Palestinian licence plates are not permitted to enter Israel unless granted a permit by Israeli authorities in advance. If you are planning to enter the West Bank with a rented vehicle, verify your insurance coverage and permissions with your car rental agency.

You should carry an international driving permit.

International Driving Permit

Useful links 

• More about the International Driving Permit  
• Driving in Israel – The Association of Americans & Canadians in Israel (AACI)

The currency of Israel is the Israeli Shekel (ILS).

Credit cards are not widely accepted in the Gaza Strip.

The Jordanian dinar (JOD) and the US dollar are also widely accepted throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

ATMs are available, but may not accept Canadian cards.

Earthquakes  

Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are located in an active seismic zone.

Even minor earthquakes can cause significant damage.

Earthquakes - What to Do?  

Sandstorms and dust storms  

Sandstorms and dust storms occur in spring and summer in some areas. Sand-laden winds can blow at high speeds for days, creating difficult driving conditions. These storms can also lead to respiratory problems for some individuals.

During a sandstorm: 

• stay indoors 
• keep windows closed
• be prepared to change, interrupt or cancel your trip at any time
• monitor local media for up-to-date information on the situation

Heavy rains, particularly during winter, can cause flooding and landslides throughout the territory.

Roads may become impassable and infrastructure damaged. 

• Exercise caution, particularly in areas around major rivers 
• Stay informed of the latest regional weather forecasts 
• Follow the advice of local authorities, including evacuation orders 

Wildfires 

Wildfires may occur throughout the territory due to high temperatures and dry conditions, particularly during summer. The air quality in areas near active fires may deteriorate due to heavy smoke. 

In case of a significant fire: 

• stay away from affected areas, particularly if you suffer from respiratory ailments 
• monitor local media for up-to-date information on the situation 

Local services

In case of emergency, dial:

• police: 100
• medical assistance: 101
• firefighters: 102

Consular assistance

For emergency consular assistance, call the Representative Office of Canada in Ramallah or the Embassy of Canada to Israel, in Tel Aviv, and follow the instructions. At any time, you may also contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa.

The decision to travel is your choice and you are responsible for your personal safety abroad. We take the safety and security of Canadians abroad very seriously and provide credible and timely information in our Travel Advice to enable you to make well-informed decisions regarding your travel abroad.

The content on this page is provided for information only. While we make every effort to give you correct information, it is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. The Government of Canada does not assume responsibility and will not be liable for any damages in connection to the information provided.

If you need consular assistance while abroad, we will make every effort to help you. However, there may be constraints that will limit the ability of the Government of Canada to provide services.

Learn more about consular services .

Risk Levels

  take normal security precautions.

Take similar precautions to those you would take in Canada.

  Exercise a high degree of caution

There are certain safety and security concerns or the situation could change quickly. Be very cautious at all times, monitor local media and follow the instructions of local authorities.

IMPORTANT: The two levels below are official Government of Canada Travel Advisories and are issued when the safety and security of Canadians travelling or living in the country or region may be at risk.

  Avoid non-essential travel

Your safety and security could be at risk. You should think about your need to travel to this country, territory or region based on family or business requirements, knowledge of or familiarity with the region, and other factors. If you are already there, think about whether you really need to be there. If you do not need to be there, you should think about leaving.

  Avoid all travel

You should not travel to this country, territory or region. Your personal safety and security are at great risk. If you are already there, you should think about leaving if it is safe to do so.

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Israel, The West Bank and Gaza

Travel Advisory June 27, 2024

See individual summaries.

Updated with information on travel restrictions for U.S. government employees under Chief of Mission security responsibility.

Do Not Travel To :

• Gaza due to terrorism and armed conflict

Reconsider Travel To :

• Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest
• West Bank due to terrorism and civil unrest

Country Summary: Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities. Violence can occur in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza without warning.

Some areas have increased risk. Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Israel and the West Bank, and Gaza.

Visit the CDC page for the latest Travel Health Information related to your travel.

If you decide to travel to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

• Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas .
• Check the most recent Alerts at the  Embassy  website for the latest information on travel in all of these areas. 
• Maintain a high degree of situational awareness and exercise caution at all times, especially at checkpoints and other areas with a significant presence of security forces.
• Avoid demonstrations and crowds.
• Follow the instructions of security and emergency response officials.
• Beware of and report suspicious activities, including unattended items, to local police.
• Learn the location of the nearest bomb shelter or other hardened shelter. Download the Home Front Command Red Alert application for mobile devices (available on devices within Israel) to receive real time alerts for rocket attacks.
• Obtain comprehensive travel medical insurance that includes medical evacuation prior to travel. Most travel insurance packages do not cover mental health related illnesses/care. 
• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook  and  Twitter .
• Review the Country Security Report for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist .

Gaza – Do Not Travel

Do not travel due to terrorism and armed conflict .

The U.S. government is unable to provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Gaza as U.S. government employees are prohibited from traveling there. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are conducting large-scale military operations in Gaza against Hamas, a U.S. government-designated foreign terrorist organization, which was responsible for the October 7 attack on Israel. As a result of the armed conflict, the security environment within Gaza and on its borders is extremely dangerous and volatile. The pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Israel was damaged on October 7 and remains closed, and the pedestrian crossing between Egypt and Gaza may close without advance notice depending on the security situation. There are sporadic telecommunication and internet outages within Gaza further inhibiting the ability of residents to obtain information.

Visit our website for Travel to High Risk Areas .

If you decide to travel to Gaza:

• Be prepared for an indefinite stay as the crossings between Gaza with Israel and Egypt can close without advance notice and for long periods during times of unrest and armed conflict.
• Have a plan for entering and departing Gaza that does not rely on U.S. government assistance.
• Households with infants and young children should plan for food and supplies, such as diapers and wipes, formula or baby food, and a change of clothing.
• If you take medication, make sure to have at least five days’ worth at any given time – if you can, we encourage enough for two weeks beyond your scheduled trip and have a copy of your prescriptions handy.
• If you use assistive or medical devices that require a power supply, be sure to find backup power or other ways that will sustain your device or equipment during a power outage.
• Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.
• Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
• Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them.

Please be sure to visit our website for How to Prepare for a Crisis for information that may be helpful.

Israel – Reconsider Travel

Reconsider travel due to terrorism and civil unrest .

The security situation remains unpredictable, and U.S. citizens are reminded to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire, often take place without warning.

U.S. government employees in Israel under Chief of Mission security responsibility are currently restricted from personal travel to the following locations:

• Within seven miles of the Gaza demarcation line, as well as the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon;
• Within 2.5 miles of the Lebanese and Syrian borders; and
• Within 1.5 miles of the Israel-Egypt border.

Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. government employees under Chief of Mission security responsibility, with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.

West Bank – Reconsider Travel

U.S. government employees in Israel under Chief of Mission security responsibility are currently restricted from all personal travel to the West Bank, except:

• U.S. government employees can use Routes 1, 90, and 443 at any time. 
• U.S. government employees are permitted personal travel to Jericho. 
• U.S. government employees are permitted daylight travel to: Inn of the Good Samaritan, An-Nabi Musa, Wadi Qelt Nature Preserve, and St. George’s Monastery along Route 1; and Qumran, Kalia Beach, St. Gerasimos/Khogla Monastery, Al Auju, and Qasr al-Yaud baptismal site along Route 90. 
• Effective June 24, 2024, personal travel is permitted for all U.S. government employees and their family members to Bethlehem, including Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, during daylight hours. Given continued closures of checkpoints throughout the West Bank, the only permitted and accessible route into Bethlehem for U.S. government employees and their family members is through Checkpoint 300. This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans.

Over the past few months, there has been an increase in settler violence, Israeli military operations, and terrorist attacks.

Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. government employees under Chief of Mission security responsibility with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.

Embassy Messages

View Alerts and Messages Archive

Quick Facts

No minimum requirement, but your authorized stay will not exceed the validity remaining on your passport and airlines may deny boarding if a traveler has fewer than six months validity on his or her passport.

1 page (although passports are normally not stamped upon entry).

Not required for stays of 90 days or fewer until August 1, 2024. Beginning August 1, 2024, visa or Electronic Travel Authorization .(ETA-IL) will be required. Please see below for detailed information about entry, exit and visa requirements.

You must declare if you are carrying 50,000 shekels or more (or the equivalent) when entering or exiting Israel by air and 12,000 shekels (or the equivalent) if entering or exiting by land.

Embassies and Consulates

U.S. Embassy Jerusalem   14 David Flusser Street   Jerusalem 93392   Telephone:  + (972) (2) 630-4000  Emergency After-Hours Telephone : + (972) (2) 622-7230  Email:   [email protected]

Contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for information and assistance in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza (including the Erez Crossing), and the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank.

U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs 18 Agron Road Jerusalem 9419003 Telephone: + (972) (2) 630-4000 Emergency After-Hours Telephone : + (972) (2) 622-7230 Email:   [email protected]

U.S. Embassy Jerusalem Branch Office Tel Aviv 71 HaYarkon Street   Tel Aviv Israel 63903   Telephone:  + (972) (3) 519-7575  Emergency After-Hours Telephone:  + (972) (3) 519-7551  Email:   [email protected]

Contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv for information and assistance in Israel outside of Jerusalem, and the northern (Sheikh Hussein) and southern (Yitzhak Rabin) border crossings connecting Israel and Jordan, and the border crossings between Israel and Egypt.

Destination Description

See the Department of State’s Fact Sheet on Israel for information on U.S.-Israel relations.

Entry, Exit and Visa Requirements

The Government of Israel administers immigration and security controls at its international land crossings with Jordan (into both the West Bank and Israel), Egypt (at the Taba crossing near Eilat), and at Israel’s airports and seaports. A separate network of security checkpoints and crossings operated by Israeli authorities regulates the movement of people and goods between Israel and the West Bank, and between Israel and Gaza.

The U.S. government seeks equal treatment and freedom of travel for all U.S. citizens regardless of national origin, religion, or ethnicity . All persons seeking to enter or depart Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza are subject to  immigration and security screening , possibly including prolonged questioning and physical searches, and  may be denied entry or exit  consistent with the uniform application of Israeli law. Persons who are denied entry have the right to an immigration court hearing to contest the denial, but they will be detained for the duration of the proceedings. Specific questions about your individual circumstances should be directed to your closest Israeli Embassy or Consulate.

When traveling into Israel,  please make sure you have proper  travel  documentation before arrival in Israel. 

1. Do I need a visa to enter Israel if I normally live in the United States?

Until August 1, 2024, U.S. citizens may use their U.S. passport to enter Israel for business or tourism purposes for stays of up to 90 days without a visa, including U.S. citizens transiting Israel to and from the West Bank.

Starting August 1, 2024, U.S. citizens must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) or a visa to enter Israel for business or tourism purposes for stays up to 90 days; an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) application will cost 25 shekels..  From  June 1, 2024 to uly 31, 2024, U.S. citizens can submit an ETA-IL application for no fee during a voluntary, pilot phase.

For more information, please contact your nearest Israeli Embassy or consulate and consult this Israeli government webpage: Reciprocal Privileges for U.S. Citizens at Border Control .

2. Do I need a visa to enter the West Bank if I am visiting the West Bank and normally live in the United States?

Until August 1, 2024, U.S. citizens who are not West Bank residents can use their U.S. passport to enter the West Bank for business or tourism purposes for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. For more information, visit this Israeli government webpage: Entry of Palestinian-American Tourists into Israel.

Starting August 1, 2024,  U.S. citizens must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) or a visa to enter Israel for business or tourism purposes for stays up to 90 days; an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) application will cost 25 shekels.  From June 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024, U.S. citizens can submit an ETA-IL application for no fee during a voluntary, pilot phase.

U.S. citizens who are not Palestinian Authority (PA) ID/passport holders and who wish to study, teach, research, work, or volunteer in the West Bank should consult the Israeli government’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT)  regulations  on entry into the West Bank. U.S. citizens who are engaged or married to West Bank residents and wish to remain in the West Bank should also consult these regulations. Questions regarding these regulations can be directed to COGAT by email at  [email protected]  or by phone at +972-3-697-7577.

3. Do I need a visa to enter Israel if I normally live in the West Bank?

U.S. citizens who are also residents of the West Bank can either apply for a permit to enter Israel from the Government of Israel’s COGAT or apply for a visa to enter Israel at Allenby Bridge in order to transit through the West Bank to Israel for up to 90 days. For more information, visit the Government of Israel’s webpage:  Entry-Exit Information: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Starting August 1, 2024, U.S. citizens must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) or a visa to enter Israel for business or tourism purposes for stays up to 90 days; an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) application will cost 25 shekels. From June 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024, U.S. citizens can submit an ETA-IL application for no fee during a voluntary, pilot phase.

4. Do I need a visa to enter Gaza through Israel if I normally live in the United States?

Please see the  Travel Advisory  before traveling to Gaza. Gaza is Level 4 – Do Not Travel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are conducting large-scale military operations in Gaza against Hamas, a U.S. government-designated foreign terrorist organization. As a result of the armed conflict, the security environment within Gaza and on its borders is extremely dangerous and volatile. We remind all U.S. citizens seeking to travel to Gaza that the U.S. government is unable to provide any routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Gaza. Given the ongoing armed  conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, U.S. citizens cannot enter Gaza from Israel.

5. Can U.S. citizens registered as residents of Gaza enter or transit Israel?

U.S. citizens who are also listed on the Palestinian Population registry for Gaza may use their U.S. passport to apply for entry into Israel for business or tourism purposes for stays of up to 90 days without a visa, including transiting Israel to and from the West Bank (but not to transit to Gaza). 

For more information, visit the Government of Israel’s webpage:  Entry of Palestinian-American Tourists into Israel . 

Starting August 1, 2024, U.S. citizen must have an approved Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) or a visa to enter Israel , for business or tourism purposes for stays up to 90 days; an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA-IL) application will cost 25 shekels. From June 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024, U.S. citizens can submit an ETA-IL application for no fee during a voluntary, pilot phase.

6. What if I am denied entry?

U.S. citizens should immediately report any denial of entry or harassment or discriminatory treatment by border officials to the American Citizens Services (ACS) unit of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv.

• U.S. citizens can use the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem and Branch Office Tel Aviv  online reporting form .
• U.S. citizens can call the Embassy at the phone numbers on our website (denials of entry only):  U.S. Citizen Services - U.S. Embassy in Israel (usembassy.gov)

Please note that the decision to admit or deny a traveler admission to Israel is entirely made by the State of Israel. The U.S. Embassy does not control this process and cannot intervene on an individual’s behalf. However, U.S. citizens who are denied entry into Israel or the West Bank should receive a written explanation from Israeli authorities.

The Israeli Ministry of Interior has continued to deny entry into Israel and the West Bank to some foreign nationals (including U.S. citizens) affiliated with certain political and non-governmental organizations that the Government of Israel views as anti-Israel. Participation in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)-related activities is one of the considerations Israeli authorities consider when deciding whether to refuse entry to individuals into Israel and the West Bank.

In addition to contacting the U.S. Embassy, if you were the subject of mistreatment or harassment by Israeli authorities upon entry to or exit from Israel, you may also email  [email protected]  to file a complaint with the Israeli authorities. If the mistreatment or harassment occurred at a check point to the West Bank you may email  [email protected]  to file a complaint.

7. What if I’m an Israeli citizen?

Individuals with Israeli citizenship, regardless of other nationality, including U.S. citizenship, must enter and depart Israel using their Israeli passports in accordance with Israeli law. Due to a passport backlog, Israeli citizens are temporarily allowed to enter and depart Israel on non-Israeli passports until December 31, 2024. Israeli citizens are prohibited from using the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge crossing. They are also prohibited from entering Gaza and are generally prohibited from traveling to parts of the West Bank under PA control (Area A), to include Bethlehem and Jericho.

Further information on  dual nationality ,  prevention of international child abduction,  and  customs regulations  can be found on our website at travel.state.gov.

Safety and Security

Terrorism:  Terrorist groups and those inspired by such organizations are intent on attacking U.S. citizens abroad. Terrorists are increasingly using less sophisticated methods of attack – including knives, firearms, and vehicles – to target crowds. Frequently, their aim is unprotected or vulnerable targets, such as:

• High-profile public events (sporting contests, political rallies, demonstrations, holiday events, celebratory gatherings, etc.)
• Hotels, clubs, and restaurants frequented by tourists
• Places of worship
• Tourism infrastructure
• Shopping malls and markets
• Public transportation systems (including subways, buses, trains, and scheduled commercial flights)

Please view the current  Travel Advisory for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza  for detailed information regarding the terrorism threat in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. For more information, see our  Terrorism  page.

Please view the current  Travel Advisory for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza  for detailed information regarding the terrorism threat in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Mortar and Rocket Fire:  In the event of mortar or rocket fire, a “red alert” siren may be activated. Treat all such alerts as real. Follow the instructions from local authorities and seek shelter immediately. Know the location of your closest shelter or protected space. U.S. government personnel and their family members may be restricted from traveling to areas affected by rocket activity, sirens, and/or the opening of bomb shelters. For additional information on appropriate action to take upon hearing a siren or explosion, see  the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command website  (available on devices within Israel) or view the  Preparedness Information.  U.S. citizens may also wish to download the free Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command application on  Android  or  Apple  devices to receive real-time security and safety alerts. Free commercial applications, such as Red Alert: Israel, are also available.

Crime:  The crime rate is moderate in Israel and the West Bank. Parked vehicle break-ins are common at public beach areas, national parks, and other tourist sites. Vehicle theft also remains a problem. U.S. citizens should not leave their valuables (including passports) unattended in parked vehicles, on the beach, or unsecured in hotels. Visitors should be aware of their surroundings in tourist areas and watch for crimes of opportunity, such as pickpockets.  The crime rate in Gaza is now unknown given the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas.

For additional information, read the most recent Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)  Crime and Safety Report for Israel .

Demonstrations  occur frequently. They may take place in response to political or economic issues, on politically significant holidays, and during international events. 

• Demonstrations can be unpredictable. Avoid areas around protests and demonstrations. Check local media for updates and traffic advisories.

International Financial Scams:  See the  Department of State  and the  FBI  pages for information.

Technology Usage Abroad : Mobiles Devices are vulnerable to compromise, theft, and physical damage anywhere in the world. Best practices include making sure all software (operating system and apps) are updated prior to traveling abroad and using virtual private network and encrypted voice over IP (VoIP) applications if possible while abroad. Make sure that all VPN/VoIP are reputable, and U.S. based. Do not connect to unknown open Wi-Fi.

GPS navigation applications (apps) can help you get around in a foreign country. Prior to using a GPS app make sure you research the route to make sure it is safe. A GPS navigation app may give you the shortest route without accounting for the safety of that route.

Be cautious of using dating apps/online dating websites abroad as U.S. citizens can be targeted by scammers. Make sure to inform your friends and family of your whereabouts, meet at a well-known public location, and do not consume suspicious food or drinks. Avoid traveling alone to bars or nightclubs.

Victims of Crime:  Report crimes to the local police. The local equivalent to the “911” emergency line in Israel and the West Bank is 100 for police, 101 for an ambulance, and 102 for the fire department.

U.S. citizen victims of sexual assault are encouraged to contact U.S. Embassy Jerusalem or Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv for assistance. You can reach U.S. Embassy Jerusalem or Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv at the contact information provided above. Local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting crime.

See our webpage on  help for U.S. victims of crime overseas .

• Help you find appropriate medical care
• Assist you in reporting a crime to the police
• Contact relatives or friends with your written consent
• Provide general information regarding the victim’s role during the local investigation and following its conclusion
• Provide a list of local attorneys
• Provide our information on  victim’s compensation programs in the United States
• Israel National Police
• Ministry of Justice 
• Ministry of Public Security
• Provide information on Government of Israel assistance to victims of terrorist acts (contact the  National Insurance Institute  for more information)
• Provide an emergency loan for repatriation to the United States and/or limited medical support in cases of destitution
• Help you find accommodation and arrange flights home
• Replace a stolen or lost passport

Domestic Violence:  U.S. citizen victims of domestic violence should contact local police and/or the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (#118 from a local cell phone or via text at +972-50-227-0018) but may also contact U.S. Embassy Jerusalem or Embassy Branch Office Tel Aviv to report it.

Tourism: The tourism industry is generally regulated in Israel and the West Bank. Rules with regards to general practices and safety inspections are regularly enforced. Hazardous areas/activities are identified with appropriate signage and trained staff is typically on hand in support of organized activities.

Local Laws & Special Circumstances

Criminal Penalties:  You are subject to the local laws of the locations you visit or reside in. Foreign laws and legal systems can be significantly different from those of the United States. If you violate Israeli or Palestinian Authority (PA) laws, even unknowingly, being a U.S. citizen will not help you avoid arrest or prosecution. The Israeli government will treat dual U.S-Israeli citizens as Israeli citizens, and the Palestinian Authority will treat dual U.S.-PA passport holders as PA "citizens”– regardless of whether they entered Israel or PA-administered area on a U.S. passport.

Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking illegal drugs in Israel and PA-administered areas are severe and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Individuals expressing views, including on social media, which the Government of Israel considers incitement to violence or hate speech may face criminal penalties, even if the the substance and manner in which those views are expressed would be lawful in the United States. PA security officials have also arrested Palestinians who posted criticism of the PA and PA leadership online. In Gaza, individuals publicly criticizing authorities risk reprisal by Hamas, including arrest, interrogation, seizure of property, and harassment.

Furthermore, some laws are also prosecutable in the United States, regardless of local law. For examples, see our website on  crimes against minors abroad  and the  Department of Justice  website.

Arrests and Arrest Notification:  If you are arrested or detained, ask police or prison officials to notify U.S. Embassy Jerusalem or Branch Office Tel Aviv immediately. See our  website on arrest or detention of a U.S. citizen abroad  for further information. While the U.S. Embassy may not recommend a particular foreign attorney, the embassy website has the  names of several attorneys  who have identified themselves as willing to assist U.S. citizen clients. Please note that inclusion on this list in no way represents an endorsement of services by the Department or the U.S. government. 

Arrests and Arrest Notification by Israel: 

• The Government of Israel is required by a bilateral treaty and customary international law to promptly notify the U.S. Embassy when a U.S. citizen is arrested in Israel to inform them that if the citizen is a U.S. citizen and requests that the U.S. Embassy be notified and makes such a request. In case of arrest or detention, U.S. citizens should promptly identify themselves as such to the arresting authorities and request that the authorities notify the U.S. Embassy immediately. There are credible reports that U.S. citizens have been mistreated by Israeli security forces during their arrest and interrogation.
• Some youths over the age of 12 have been tried as adults; youths over the age of 14 can be imprisoned. 
• Arrestees have also reported pressure to sign documents in Hebrew that they do not understand.
• U.S. citizens arrested in Israel for criminal or security offenses are entitled to legal representation provided by the Government of Israel. U.S. citizens arrested by Israeli authorities for security offenses may be prevented from communicating with lawyers, family members, or consular officers for lengthy periods. Even after notification, consular access to the arrested individual may be delayed for days to several weeks. Under Israeli law, individuals detained for security offenses may be held for up to six months without charges.

Arrests and Arrest Notification by the Palestinian Authority (PA):

• In case of arrest or detention, U.S. citizens should promptly identify themselves as such to the arresting authorities and should request that the U.S. Embassy be notified immediately. Individuals arrested by PA security forces in the West Bank for security offenses may be prohibited from communicating with lawyers, family members, or consular officers for lengthy periods. In addition, they may be held in custody for long periods without formal charges or before being brought before a judge for an arrest extension. The PA often does not notify the U.S. Embassy of such arrests, and consular access to arrestees is often delayed. There are credible reports that arrested individuals, including U.S. citizens, have been mistreated by PA security forces during their arrest and interrogation.

Gaza:  Since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, they have dominated security matters in Gaza, but this control has been degraded by Israel’s ongoing military operations against Hamas. The U.S. government is severely limited in what it can do to assist those detained in Gaza. In case of arrest or detention by Israeli security forces in Gaza, U.S. citizens should promptly identify themselves as such to the arresting authorities and should request that the U.S. Embassy be notified immediately.

Israeli Court Jurisdiction:  Military, civil and religious courts in Israel actively exercise their authority to bar certain individuals, including nonresidents, from leaving the country until debts or other legal claims and matters against them are resolved. Israel's religious courts exercise jurisdiction over all citizens and residents of Israel in cases of marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support. U.S. citizens, including those without Israeli citizenship, may be subject to involuntary and prolonged stays (and even imprisonment) in Israel if a case is filed against them in a religious court, even if their marriage took place in the United States, and regardless of whether their spouse is present in Israel. The U.S. Embassy is unable to cancel the debt of a U.S. citizen or guarantee their departure from Israel when they face a bar from leaving the country until debts are resolved.    Purchases of Property:  U.S. citizens should always seek legal advice before buying or leasing property in the West Bank and Gaza. Please see the most recent  Investment Climate Statement for the West Bank and Gaza  for additional information on property rights.

Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Although counterfeit and pirated goods are prevalent in many countries, they may be illegal according to the local laws. Counterfeit and pirated goods also may pose significant risks to consumer health and safety. You may be subject to fines and/or have to give up counterfeit and pirated goods if you bring them back to the United States.   See the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and U.S. Department of Justice website for more information.

Faith-Based Travelers:  See the following webpages for details:

• Faith-Based Travel Information
• International Religious Freedom Report  – see country reports
• Human Rights Report  – see country reports
• Best Practices for Volunteering Abroad

International Volunteers:

LGBTQI+ Rights:  There are no legal restrictions on same-sex sexual relations or the organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) events in Israel. Israeli anti-discrimination laws protect LGBTQI+ individuals. Acceptance and tolerance of LGBQTI+ people vary throughout the country and from neighborhood to neighborhood. As of August 2014, the Law of Return allows that same-sex spouses of Jews immigrating to Israel – known as “making Aliyah” – are eligible to make Aliyah with their spouses and receive Israeli citizenship.    The legal systems in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are based on the 1960 Jordanian penal code which prohibits consensual same-sex sexual activity. However, the PA has not prosecuted individuals suspected of such activity. Societal discrimination, including from families, based on cultural and religious traditions is commonplace, making the West Bank and Gaza challenging environments for LGBTQI+ persons. PA security officers have harassed, abused, and sometimes arrested LGBTQI+ individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. NGOs have reported that Hamas also harassed and detained persons in Gaza due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.    LGBTQI+ travelers are encouraged to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings, especially when entering religious or socially conservative areas.

Israel’s  Aguda  organization provides useful information on LGBTQI+ issues in Israel.    See   our  LGBTQI+ Travel Information page  and section 6 of the  Department of State's Human Rights report  for further details.

Persons with Mobility Issues:  Individuals with mobility issues may find accessibility and accommodation in Israel very different from in the United States. Legislation mandates access to buildings and transportation, as well as accommodations for persons with disabilities in services and the workplace. However, the government enforces the laws with only limited success. Societal discrimination and lack of accessibility persist in employment and housing. The law mandates accessibility to urban public transportation but not to intercity buses. Most train stations maintain access for persons with disabilities; however, many buses still do not have such access. Television stations include subtitles or sign language, and the courts accommodate testimony from persons with intellectual disabilities or mental illness. Tourists will find restaurants, foot paths, and public transportation less accessible than in the United States.

PA law prohibits discrimination based on disability. The Palestinian Disability Law was ratified in 1999, but implementation has been slow. It does not mandate access to buildings, information, or communications. Palestinians with disabilities continue to receive uneven and poor-quality services and care. Familial and societal discrimination against persons with disabilities exists in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Students:  See our  Students Abroad  page and  FBI travel tips .

Women Travelers:  See our travel tips for  Women Travelers .

For emergency services in Israel, dial 101 for ambulances, and 100 for police.

Modern medical care and medicines are available in Israel. Some hospitals in Israel, most hospitals in the West Bank, and all hospitals in Gaza, however, fall below Western standards. Travelers can find information in English about emergency medical facilities and after-hours pharmacies in the  Jerusalem Post  and the English-language edition of the  Ha'aretz  newspaper, or refer to the  U.S. Embassy’s medical information list .

Ambulance services are widely available in Israel. Ambulance services in the West Bank are available but training and availability of emergency responders may be below U.S. standards. The U.S. government does not have knowledge of the standards of ambulance services in Gaza, but their capabilities have been degraded by the ongoing armed conflict between Hamas and Israel. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) operates in the West Bank and Gaza.

We highly recommend that all travelers review the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s entire Travelers’ Health webpage and general Traveler Advice for Israel.Traveler Advice for Israel.

• Select your destination in the Travelers’ Health webpage . Review all sub-sections including the Travel Health Notices, Vaccines and Medicines, Non-Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, Stay Healthy and Safe, Healthy Travel Packing List, and After Your Trip.

Review the Traveler Advice webpage that provides advice on medical considerations including:

• Reasons for Travel (for example: Adventure Travel, Spring Break Travel)
• Travelers with Special Considerations (for example: Allergies, Long-Term Travelers and Expatriates)
• and General Tips (for example: Traveling with Medications, Travel Vaccines)

The Department of State, U.S. embassies and U.S. consulates do not pay medical bills. Be aware that U.S. Medicare/Medicaid does not apply overseas. Most hospitals and doctors overseas do not accept U.S. health insurance.

Medical Insurance:  Make sure your health insurance plan provides coverage for places you are traveling overseas. Most care providers overseas only accept cash payments. See  our webpage on insurance coverage overseas  for more information. Visit the  U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  for more information on type of insurance you should consider before you travel overseas.

We strongly recommend  supplemental insurance  (see our webpage) to cover medical evacuation.

Always carry your prescription medication in original packaging, along with your doctor’s prescription. Check with the Israel  Ministry of Health  to ensure the medication is legal in Israel.

Be up to date on all  vaccinations  recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For further health information, go to :

• World Health Organization
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Air Quality:  Visit  AirNow Department of State  for information on air quality at U.S. Embassies and Consulates.

The U.S. Embassy maintains a  list  of doctors and hospitals. We do not endorse or recommend any specific medical provider or clinic.

Health facilities in general:

• Adequate health facilities are available throughout Israel but health care in the West Bank may be below U.S. standards. Health care in Gaza has been severely degraded by the ongoing military conflict between Israel and Hamas and what is available is far below U.S. standards.
• Medical staff may speak little or no English.
• Patients bear all costs for transfer to or between hospitals.

Medical Tourism and Elective Surgery

• Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry. People seeking health care overseas should understand that medical systems operate differently from those in the United States and are not subject to the same rules and regulations. Anyone interested in traveling for medical purposes should consult with their local physician before traveling and visit the  U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  website for more information on medical tourism, the risks of medical tourism, and what you can do to prepare before traveling.
• We strongly recommend  supplemental insurance  to cover medical evacuation in the event of unforeseen medical complications.

Pharmaceuticals

• Exercise caution when purchasing medication in Israel. Pharmaceuticals, both those available over the counter and those requiring a prescription in the United States, are often readily available for purchase with few restrictions or controls. Counterfeit medication is common and may prove to be ineffective, the wrong strength, or contain dangerous ingredients. Medication should be purchased in consultation with a medical professional and from reputable establishments.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Food and Drug Administration are responsible for rules governing the transport of medication back to the United States. Medication purchased abroad must meet their requirements to be legally brought back into the United States. Medication may only be for personal use and must be approved for usage in the United States. Please visit the  U.S. Customs and Border Protection  and the  Food and Drug Administration  websites for more information.

Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy

• If you are considering traveling to Israel to have a child through use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) or surrogacy, please see our  ART and Surrogacy Abroad page .
• Surrogacy is subject to complex local regulation. For additional information, visit the Israel Ministry of Health  website  for information on surrogacy.

Water Quality

• Tap water in Israel is potable. In many areas of the West Bank and most areas of Gaza, tap water is not potable. Bottled water and beverages are generally safe, although you should be aware that many restaurants and hotels serve tap water unless bottled water is specifically requested. Be aware that ice for drinks may be made using tap water.

Adventure Travel

• Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for more information about  Adventure Travel .

Travel and Transportation

Road Conditions and Safety:  While in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below is provided for general reference only and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

• Israel:   Israeli roads and highways tend to be crowded, especially in urban areas. The Government of Israel requires that all occupants of passenger cars always wear seat belts. Passenger cars must use headlights during all intercity travel, both day and night, and during winter. All drivers are required to carry fluorescent vests and safety triangles in the car with them at all times, and they are required to wear the vests whenever they get out of their cars to make repairs or change tires. If a vehicle is stopped for a traffic violation and it does not contain a fluorescent vest, the driver will be fined. These vests can be purchased for a nominal price in all local gas stations. While mobile phone use is prohibited while driving, hands-free units are authorized. The acceptable limit for blood alcohol content is lower in Israel than in the United States.
• West Bank and Gaza:  Crowded roads are common in the West Bank. During periods of heightened tension in the West Bank, protestors have targeted cars and buses with stone throwing, improvised incendiary devices, small arms fire, barricades, and burning tires. Emergency services may be delayed by the need for Palestinian authorities to coordinate with Israeli officials. Seat belt use is required, and drivers may not drink alcohol. Individuals involved in accidents resulting in death or injury may be detained by police pending an investigation. The roads in Gaza have been severely degraded in areas where armed conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken place.

Traffic Laws:  Aggressive driving is commonplace, and many drivers fail to maintain safe following distances or signal before changing lanes or making turns. Overtaking at high-speed on undivided two-lane roads is common and may result in accidents. Drivers are also prone to stop suddenly on roads without warning, especially in the right lane. Drivers should use caution, as Israel has a high rate of fatalities from automobile accidents.

Please refer to our Road Safety page for more information. We suggest that you visit the website of the country’s national  tourist  office and Israel's  Ministry of Transport and Road Safety  for additional information on road safety.    Aviation Safety Oversight:  The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed that the Government of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority is in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards for oversight of Israel’s air carrier operations. Further information may be found on the  FAA’s safety assessment page ..

For additional travel information

• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Call us in Washington, D.C. at 1-888-407-4747 (toll-free in the United States and Canada) or 1-202-501-4444 (from all other countries) from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
• See the  State Department’s travel website  for the  Worldwide Caution  and  Travel Advisories .
• Follow us on  Twitter  and  Facebook .
• See  traveling safely abroad  for useful travel tips.

Review information about International Parental Child Abduction in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza . For additional IPCA-related information, please see the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act ( ICAPRA ) report.

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Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza Traveler View

Travel health notices, vaccines and medicines, non-vaccine-preventable diseases, stay healthy and safe.

• Packing List

After Your Trip

There are no notices currently in effect for Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza.

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Check the vaccines and medicines list and visit your doctor at least a month before your trip to get vaccines or medicines you may need. If you or your doctor need help finding a location that provides certain vaccines or medicines, visit the Find a Clinic page.

Routine vaccines

Recommendations.

Make sure you are up-to-date on all routine vaccines before every trip. Some of these vaccines include

• Chickenpox (Varicella)
• Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis
• Flu (influenza)
• Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR)

Immunization schedules

All eligible travelers should be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines. Please see  Your COVID-19 Vaccination  for more information. 

COVID-19 vaccine

Hepatitis A

Recommended for unvaccinated travelers one year old or older going to Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza.

Infants 6 to 11 months old should also be vaccinated against Hepatitis A. The dose does not count toward the routine 2-dose series.

Travelers allergic to a vaccine component or who are younger than 6 months should receive a single dose of immune globulin, which provides effective protection for up to 2 months depending on dosage given.

Unvaccinated travelers who are over 40 years old, immunocompromised, or have chronic medical conditions planning to depart to a risk area in less than 2 weeks should get the initial dose of vaccine and at the same appointment receive immune globulin.

Hepatitis A - CDC Yellow Book

Dosing info - Hep A

Hepatitis B

Recommended for unvaccinated travelers younger than 60 years old traveling to Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza. Unvaccinated travelers 60 years and older may get vaccinated before traveling to Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza.

Hepatitis B - CDC Yellow Book

Dosing info - Hep B

Cases of measles are on the rise worldwide. Travelers are at risk of measles if they have not been fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to departure, or have not had measles in the past, and travel internationally to areas where measles is spreading.

All international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, including an early dose for infants 6–11 months, according to  CDC’s measles vaccination recommendations for international travel .

Measles (Rubeola) - CDC Yellow Book

Dogs infected with rabies are commonly found in Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza.

Rabies is also present in some terrestrial wildlife species.

If rabies exposures occur while in Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza, rabies vaccines are typically available throughout most of the country.

Rabies pre-exposure vaccination considerations include whether travelers 1) will be performing occupational or recreational activities that increase risk for exposure to potentially rabid animals and 2) might have difficulty getting prompt access to safe post-exposure prophylaxis.

Please consult with a healthcare provider to determine whether you should receive pre-exposure vaccination before travel.

For more information, see country rabies status assessments .

Rabies - CDC Yellow Book

If your trip includes the West Bank and Gaza, you might want to consider getting typhoid vaccine. You can get typhoid infection from contaminated food and water.

Typhoid - CDC Yellow Book

Dosing info - Typhoid

Avoid contaminated water

Leptospirosis

How most people get sick (most common modes of transmission)

• Touching urine or other body fluids from an animal infected with leptospirosis
• Swimming or wading in urine-contaminated fresh water, or contact with urine-contaminated mud
• Drinking water or eating food contaminated with animal urine
• Avoid contaminated water and soil
• Avoid floodwater

Clinical Guidance

Avoid bug bites.

Leishmaniasis

• Sand fly bite
• Avoid Bug Bites

Airborne & droplet

Avian/bird flu.

• Being around, touching, or working with infected poultry, such as visiting poultry farms or live-animal markets
• Avoid domestic and wild poultry
• Breathing in air or accidentally eating food contaminated with the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents
• Bite from an infected rodent
• Less commonly, being around someone sick with hantavirus (only occurs with Andes virus)
• Avoid rodents and areas where they live
• Avoid sick people

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

• Scientists do not fully understand how the MERS virus spreads
• May spread from to others when an infected person coughs or sneezes
• May spread to people from camels.

Middle East Respiratory virus syndrome (MERS)

Tuberculosis (TB)

• Breathe in TB bacteria that is in the air from an infected and contagious person coughing, speaking, or singing.

Learn actions you can take to stay healthy and safe on your trip. Vaccines cannot protect you from many diseases in Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza, so your behaviors are important.

Eat and drink safely

Food and water standards around the world vary based on the destination. Standards may also differ within a country and risk may change depending on activity type (e.g., hiking versus business trip). You can learn more about safe food and drink choices when traveling by accessing the resources below.

• Choose Safe Food and Drinks When Traveling
• Water Treatment Options When Hiking, Camping or Traveling
• Global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene | Healthy Water
• Avoid Contaminated Water During Travel

You can also visit the  Department of State Country Information Pages  for additional information about food and water safety.

Prevent bug bites

Although Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza is an industrialized country, bug bites here can still spread diseases. Just as you would in the United States, try to avoid bug bites while spending time outside or in wooded areas.

What can I do to prevent bug bites?

• Cover exposed skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and hats.
• Use an appropriate insect repellent (see below).
• Consider using permethrin-treated clothing and gear if spending a lot of time outside. Do not use permethrin directly on skin.

What type of insect repellent should I use?

• FOR PROTECTION AGAINST TICKS AND MOSQUITOES: Use a repellent that contains 20% or more DEET for protection that lasts up to several hours.
• Picaridin (also known as KBR 3023, Bayrepel, and icaridin)
• Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD)
• 2-undecanone
• Always use insect repellent as directed.

What should I do if I am bitten by bugs?

• Avoid scratching bug bites, and apply hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion to reduce the itching.
• Check your entire body for ticks after outdoor activity. Be sure to remove ticks properly.

What can I do to avoid bed bugs?

Although bed bugs do not carry disease, they are an annoyance. See our information page about avoiding bug bites for some easy tips to avoid them. For more information on bed bugs, see Bed Bugs .

For more detailed information on avoiding bug bites, see Avoid Bug Bites .

Stay safe outdoors

If your travel plans in Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza include outdoor activities, take these steps to stay safe and healthy during your trip:

• Stay alert to changing weather conditions and adjust your plans if conditions become unsafe.
• Prepare for activities by wearing the right clothes and packing protective items, such as bug spray, sunscreen, and a basic first aid kit.
• Consider learning basic first aid and CPR before travel. Bring a travel health kit with items appropriate for your activities.
• If you are outside for many hours in the heat, eat salty snacks and drink water to stay hydrated and replace salt lost through sweating.
• Protect yourself from UV radiation : use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15, wear protective clothing, and seek shade during the hottest time of day (10 a.m.–4 p.m.).
• Be especially careful during summer months and at high elevation. Because sunlight reflects off snow, sand, and water, sun exposure may be increased during activities like skiing, swimming, and sailing.
• Very cold temperatures can be dangerous. Dress in layers and cover heads, hands, and feet properly if you are visiting a cold location.

Stay safe around water

• Swim only in designated swimming areas. Obey lifeguards and warning flags on beaches.
• Do not dive into shallow water.
• Avoid swallowing water when swimming. Untreated water can carry germs that make you sick.
• Practice safe boating—follow all boating safety laws, do not drink alcohol if you are driving a boat, and always wear a life jacket.

Keep away from animals

Most animals avoid people, but they may attack if they feel threatened, are protecting their young or territory, or if they are injured or ill. Animal bites and scratches can lead to serious diseases such as rabies.

Follow these tips to protect yourself:

• Do not touch or feed any animals you do not know.
• Do not allow animals to lick open wounds, and do not get animal saliva in your eyes or mouth.
• Avoid rodents and their urine and feces.
• Traveling pets should be supervised closely and not allowed to come in contact with local animals.
• If you wake in a room with a bat, seek medical care immediately.  Bat bites may be hard to see.

All animals can pose a threat, but be extra careful around dogs, bats, monkeys, sea animals such as jellyfish, and snakes. If you are bitten or scratched by an animal, immediately:

• Wash the wound with soap and clean water.
• Go to a doctor right away.
• Tell your doctor about your injury when you get back to the United States.

Reduce your exposure to germs

Follow these tips to avoid getting sick or spreading illness to others while traveling:

• Wash your hands often, especially before eating.
• If soap and water aren’t available, clean hands with hand sanitizer (containing at least 60% alcohol).
• Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. If you need to touch your face, make sure your hands are clean.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
• Try to avoid contact with people who are sick.
• If you are sick, stay home or in your hotel room, unless you need medical care.

Avoid sharing body fluids

Diseases can be spread through body fluids, such as saliva, blood, vomit, and semen.

Protect yourself:

• Use latex condoms correctly.
• Do not inject drugs.
• Limit alcohol consumption. People take more risks when intoxicated.
• Do not share needles or any devices that can break the skin. That includes needles for tattoos, piercings, and acupuncture.
• If you receive medical or dental care, make sure the equipment is disinfected or sanitized.

Know how to get medical care while traveling

Plan for how you will get health care during your trip, should the need arise:

• Carry a list of local doctors and hospitals at your destination.
• Review your health insurance plan to determine what medical services it would cover during your trip. Consider purchasing travel health and medical evacuation insurance for things your regular insurance will not cover.
• Carry a card that identifies, in the local language, your blood type, chronic conditions or serious allergies, and the generic names of any medicines you take.
• Bring copies of your prescriptions for medicine and for eye glasses and contact lenses.
• Some prescription drugs may be illegal in other countries. Call Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza’s embassy to verify that all of your prescription(s) are legal to bring with you.
• Bring all the medicines (including over-the-counter medicines) you think you might need during your trip, including extra in case of travel delays. Ask your doctor to help you get prescriptions filled early if you need to.

Many foreign hospitals and clinics are accredited by the Joint Commission International. A list of accredited facilities is available at their website ( www.jointcommissioninternational.org ).

Select safe transportation

Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 killer of healthy US citizens in foreign countries.

Be smart when you are traveling on foot.

• Use sidewalks and marked crosswalks.
• Pay attention to the traffic around you, especially in crowded areas.
• Remember, people on foot do not always have the right of way in other countries.

Riding/Driving

Choose a safe vehicle.

• Choose official taxis or public transportation, such as trains and buses.
• Make sure there are seatbelts.
• Avoid overcrowded, overloaded, top-heavy buses and minivans.
• Avoid riding on motorcycles or motorbikes, especially motorbike taxis. (Many crashes are caused by inexperienced motorbike drivers.)
• Choose newer vehicles—they may have more safety features, such as airbags, and be more reliable.
• Choose larger vehicles, which may provide more protection in crashes.

Think about the driver.

• Do not drive after drinking alcohol or ride with someone who has been drinking.
• Consider hiring a licensed, trained driver familiar with the area.
• Arrange payment before departing.

Follow basic safety tips.

• Wear a seatbelt at all times.
• Sit in the back seat of cars and taxis.
• When on motorbikes or bicycles, always wear a helmet. (Bring a helmet from home, if needed.)
• Do not use a cell phone or text while driving (illegal in many countries).
• Travel during daylight hours only, especially in rural areas.
• If you choose to drive a vehicle in Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza, learn the local traffic laws and have the proper paperwork.
• Get any driving permits and insurance you may need. Get an International Driving Permit (IDP). Carry the IDP and a US-issued driver's license at all times.
• Check with your auto insurance policy's international coverage, and get more coverage if needed. Make sure you have liability insurance.
• Avoid using local, unscheduled aircraft.
• If possible, fly on larger planes (more than 30 seats); larger airplanes are more likely to have regular safety inspections.
• Try to schedule flights during daylight hours and in good weather.

Helpful Resources

Road Safety Overseas (Information from the US Department of State): Includes tips on driving in other countries, International Driving Permits, auto insurance, and other resources.

The Association for International Road Travel has country-specific Road Travel Reports available for most countries for a minimal fee.

Maintain personal security

Use the same common sense traveling overseas that you would at home, and always stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Note that the US Department of State urges US citizens to exercise caution when traveling to the West Bank and strongly urges US citizens to avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip. See http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/israel-travel-warning.html for more information.

Before you leave

• Research your destination(s), including local laws, customs, and culture.
• Monitor travel warnings and alerts and read travel tips from the US Department of State.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) .
• Leave a copy of your itinerary, contact information, credit cards, and passport with someone at home.
• Pack as light as possible, and leave at home any item you could not replace.

While at your destination(s)

• Carry contact information for the nearest US embassy or consulate .
• Carry a photocopy of your passport and entry stamp; leave the actual passport securely in your hotel.
• Follow all local laws and social customs.
• Do not wear expensive clothing or jewelry.
• Always keep hotel doors locked, and store valuables in secure areas.
• If possible, choose hotel rooms between the 2nd and 6th floors.

Healthy Travel Packing List

Use the Healthy Travel Packing List for Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza for a list of health-related items to consider packing for your trip. Talk to your doctor about which items are most important for you.

Why does CDC recommend packing these health-related items?

It’s best to be prepared to prevent and treat common illnesses and injuries. Some supplies and medicines may be difficult to find at your destination, may have different names, or may have different ingredients than what you normally use.

If you are not feeling well after your trip, you may need to see a doctor. If you need help finding a travel medicine specialist, see Find a Clinic . Be sure to tell your doctor about your travel, including where you went and what you did on your trip. Also tell your doctor if you were bitten or scratched by an animal while traveling.

For more information on what to do if you are sick after your trip, see Getting Sick after Travel .

Map Disclaimer - The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement are generally marked.

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Is Israel Safe? Crime Rates & Safety Report

• Israel : Safety by City
• Golan Heights

Israel is a small Middle Eastern country located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea at the Gulf of Eilat.

Israel shares its borders with Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the southwest, with Jordan to the east, and Syria and Lebanon to the north.

After World War II, Israel was established as a state for the Jewish people and considered a part of the Holy Land (along with Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Territories).

Another reason why this country is so important from a historical and cultural aspect is the fact that three major religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — all have historical connections to the region.

Tourists can immerse themselves in a number of different activities, since Israel varies significantly in geography from region to region, with landscapes of mountains, valleys and deserts and of course an amazing coastline, with everything else in between.

Each area of Israel has its own tourist attractions and its unique beauty, though the areas of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are definitely the most popular and most frequented by tourists.

• Warnings & Dangers in Israel

OVERALL RISK: MEDIUM

Israel is overall safe to travel to, with considerably low crime rates where tourists are free to explore without having to worry about street crime. However, it is advised that you remain vigilant at all times, especially on public transport since Palestinian terrorist groups have been known to target buses and bus-stops.

TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: MEDIUM

It is recommended that you remain vigilant when using public transport since it is often the target of terrorist groups. Try to avoid public transport during rush hours and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

PICKPOCKETS RISK: MEDIUM

Pickpockets are a problem like in the majority of destinations frequented by tourists. Be careful, keep your eyes open in public, crowded areas such as train stations and airports, and keep your valuables close by your side.

NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM

Israel is located in a seismically active area. Apart from that, you can expect sand storms and occasional floods.

MUGGING RISK: MEDIUM

It is not likely you will get mugged in Israel. Crime rates are very low, and violent crime against tourists is highly unlikely. Still, be careful near the borders with Syria, Lebanon or Egypt, since there's a risk of being kidnapped in those areas.

TERRORISM RISK: HIGH

Acts of terrorism are very likely in Israel. Avoid at all costs the areas near the borders with Lebanon, Syria or Egypt.

SCAMS RISK: LOW

The risk of getting scammed in Israel is pretty low, though you should still negotiate everything in advance, double check your change and never pay anything upfront.

WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW

Israel is definitely safe for women traveling solo. Just use your common sense and have your wits with you. Avoid poorly lit and deserted areas at night and finding yourself in places filled with drunken people.

• So... How Safe Is Israel Really?

Traveling to Israel is relatively safe, of course, when there is no danger of encountering riots and fights between Israel and Palestinian militants, and this is also your biggest worry if you’re planning on visiting Israel.

Bear in mind that public transport is somewhat dangerous since buses and bus-stops have been targeted by Palestinian terrorist groups since the early 1990s.

However, it isn’t likely that you’ll be involved in an attack, so this shouldn’t pose a great danger to tourist, but you should be wary when using public transportation in Israel.

If you see anyone acting suspiciously, notify the authorities immediately, and never leave your bags or backpacks unattended as they might cause panic since people may suspect a bomb is inside.

As for other forms of crime, Israel is very safe to travel to, it even has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and is much safer, in terms of street crime, than other top destinations in Europe.

Crimes such as mugging and violence happen rarely and even more so towards tourists, so you are safe to walk at night.

You should still take precaution measures, especially if you are a single woman traveling alone, and you should be careful late at night as you would be in your own country but the risks are much lower than in Europe or America.

• How Does Israel Compare?
• Useful Information

Many countries, including all U.S, Australian, European and Canadian visitors do not need a visa for stays shorter than 90 days. Any longer than that, you might need to acquire a visa. If you are not sure about your visa status, visit www.doyouneedvisa.com which will let you know whether or not you need a visa based on your nationality and the country you want to visit.

Israeli new shekel is the official currency of Israel. Be wary of people trying to pass off the old version of a shekel as the new one: the old ones do not have any value. ATMs are widely available, except near the borders with Jordan and Egypt and credit cards accepted throughout the country.

The weather in Israel is characterized by hot and sunny summers, and long sunny spells, with clear skies from May to September. In places where there is precipitation, rain is expected from November to March. The west coast of Israel has a Mediterranean climate, with very mild and rainy winters, and hot and sunny summers.

Ben Gurion International Airport, sometimes knows as just Ben Gurion Airport or Natbag is the busiest, and the main international airport of Israel. It is located 19 km southeast of Tel Aviv, the main municipal city of this country.

Travel Insurance

Just like anywhere else, we recommend getting travel insurance when traveling to Israel since it covers not only the costs of medical problems but also theft and loss of valuables.

Israel Weather Averages (Temperatures)

• Average High/Low Temperature

Israel - Safety by City

Explore israel.

• 9 Cheapest Places to Live in Israel
• 10 Most Dangerous Cities in Israel
• 10 Safest Cities in Israel
• Where to Next?

39 Reviews on Israel

Jerusalem is the capital city of Israel and only Israel! great country.

Jerusalem is shared by Arabs and Jews. Israeli aggression and settlement policy is intentionally working to extract Arabs.

No, really?

But it could be shared by Jews and Arabs, as still be THE capital city. Paris is shared by many nationalities, but it’s still the indisputable capital of France. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works with Muslims. There is NO reason why Jerusalem should be a HOLY city for Muslims. They conquered it – yes. But what Jerusalem is to Jews, and Rome to Christians, MECCA is to Muslims. I’m no Nostradamus, but I can see how in 100 years, Paris and Berlin “evolve” into Islam’s holy cities.

Middle East belongs to Arabic Race

I’m Arab and i don’t care about religion, i’m atheist. And i’m from Jerusalem. Jerusalem was an Arab city from a while. Even under the Roman and Byzantine rule, the Arabs population was in Jerusalem and rural/desert area near the city. It’s right that Jerusalem was an Hebraic city before the Roman rule. But, if the Jews have the right to have Jerusalem, so, let’s deported all Europeans American from America, because the Native Americans have the right to reconquer their lands.

Your just mad we have the best land and only a little piece of it and it’s still one of the best countries in the world, your people have enough land but always turn it to shit but we finally have our own land and of course Arabs want it! Selfish scum

Take your antisemitism and leave it out of travel websites. No one cares about your political opinion. Jews are indigenous to the region unlike the Palestinians, and the land will continue to be theirs even if that hurts your feelings. Cope.

Jerusalem and Israel always have been and always will be Jewish homeland.

Dude, Jerusalem has literally NEVER been an arab or muslim city. Even the Quran recognizes Jerusalem and Israel as the land of Issac and Jacobs people. Historically it has never had an arab majority. I have friends who’s families have been there a hundred generations! Don’t distort the fact that Jews are welcoming and hospitable to even their enemies. This land is our heritage all 11,000 sq miles of it. Muslim heritage has 6.5 million sq miles, same language, same religion and same culture.

Absolutely Andy B.

I don't have a rating but my kuwaiti uncle sister Married a Jew and I need dual citizenship bc I received a US military pension otherwise I would do asylum. I didn't vote for Obama or Trump

Roman Catholic is not Christain…in the Quran states “Christainity Judo-Christainity and Islam all have the same Allah” doesn’t say Roman Catholic. I converted from Christain to Muslim because I needed Ruquia. From what I KNOW now about Roman Catholic I wouldn’t let them touch me. There’s more to it…but the British, since you can legally dead…icate the US military war memorials to the British Red Coats. In their roll of using the Federal Reserve to support both sides of the war in WW1 and WW2 with France and Germany to prolong the wars to kill more American Soldiers legally using american tax payers money. Which means British supported the extermination of Jews. Plus Germany and France sold parts to Iraq to make their SCUDS missiles to shoot further to kill Americans Soldiers in Kuwait at the start of the war in Iraq. Werid that U.S. still has bases in Germany since US military is not number 1 in the world plus not in the Top 3 that’s a fact. I know because I watched a TV program here in Africa with in last month. It stated Top 3 in the world are British Germany and France..? How can 2 conquered nations be in Top 3 by USA. Unless USA is the FALL COUNTRY look at the national Debt. The Declaration of Independence is a lie. Taxation without representation. British RUNS USA Africa France Germany India to Name a few.

5 star agreement.

Spot on Andy B

Misleading review and rating

I think this description and low rating is really exaggerated, we have not had any bus attacks in years. Pick pocketing is super rare with the exception of leaving your smartphone or wallet exposed and unguarded. Sandstorms??? I don’t think so! this is not the Sahara desert, whoever wrote this this does not know what they are talking about. We do get floods occasionally during winter season, mainly in the south, you just need to watch where you are driving.

I would say there are three things to worry about if you are traveling to Israel, getting ripped off or scammed because you are a tourist, happens on taxi rides or any tourist attraction-just ask for the price before hand and haggle when needed. Terror attacks targeting tourists are superrrr rare, but if it’s your day to go… I would be a bit more concerned about young ladies drinking too much and getting themselves into trouble, and even that is not that common. All in all Israel is one of the safest places I know. It’s as safe as most countries in Europe.

Well I want to go visit. I have never been there I am from California I would love to go visit and see the hospitality from the people.. I really was interested in the anointing oil where is a good place to go visit . Thanks

Welcoming and very safe country!!

Great experience and super safe… I traveled all over and was in the Golan over looking Lebanon and Syria. Tel aviv and Jerusalem both fantastic in their own way. Major real estate development and the level of tech/med innovation is amazing.

I did not travel very south, but did go to the Dead Sea and Masada. The tour bus did use the highway that crossed into the “West Bank” from the North into Jerusalem.

I felt totally safe and at home at all times. This was my (and Wife’s) first trip to the Holy land!!

Go visit!!!

Great country if you avoid the border area

I’ve visited Israel in the 90’s but I don’t think I have the courage to go again. I know only some places have bad reputation but I am a compulsive worrier, I wouldn’t enjoy myself, I would think of the wildest scenarios all the time.

Safer than expected

Got a bit nervous before my trip to Israel. However, Israel felt safer than expected. I even walk around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv at night and felt very safe. Both Jews and Arab Israelis are friendly.

Much safer than stated!

Much safer than described here. Israel has taken some major terrorist prevention steps in the past decade. Just stay away from the boarder of Gaza and you will be fine!

Even travelling to the West Bank was safe. The biggest issue in Israel are taxis. They will always try to rip you off, not want to use the meter, etc. Biggest scammers. Avoid or use an app to order a taxi if possible.

For good, it is NOT true Israel is Safe!

Israel is safer than most western cities, including NY, Paris & Barcelona. I’ve lived here for 10 years & I can’t remember the last time there was a major terror attack – maybe 1 in the last 10 years & it was targeting settlers. I don’t think any tourists have ever been killed here, maybe one in the last 30 years. Pickpocketing will not happen here unless you’re in an Arab area (you’ll know because you’ll stop seeing signs in Arabic only) because most Israelis will intervene & stop it. Most Arabs, especially in the north are friendly to Jews & tourists. There is a lot of peaceful coexistence, especially in mixed cities like Haifa. If you want to avoid arguments just keep your political views to yourself & enjoy the diversity & the history.

Reliving history as a tourist.

I agree that Haifa is a beautiful city. The country of Israel is a great tourist destination with white beaches and friendly inhabitants. I served with the Multinational forces in Sinai and traveled to Israel weekly experiencing the old city and all the tourist areas. My advice to travelers is to blend in and be respectful to all persons you meet. Hope to return to Israel again.

Safer but avoid gaza strip

Only safe when things improve

If you have read what has happened on the news lately (may 2021) then Israel should be put on red not safe for any tourist if there are frequent rocket explosions and riots in cities

Maybe it will be safe again when situation improves but right now no

I am about to go in November 2021 but don’t quite know what to do. Go, or not. Safe, or not. Going with a group. Still holding my breath.

999 centillion percent wrong.

Israel is safe, not dangerous. It is better than neighbouring Africa. Why the hell is Israel not safe? The author of this stupid article made a very bad idea. DO NOT READ THIS PAGE!

As an Iranian I love Israel I hope one day visit Isreal <3

Israel is an absolutely amazing country!

Israel is a great place to visit! Do not listen to all the antisemitic garbage out there about Israel being a dangerous country. I myself and so many people I know—just look at most other reviews out there—all think that Israel is one of the best experiences ever. Israel is definitely a first-world country with technology that matches if not exceeds America’s. Israel is the best!

Israel is a place of wonder, with many beautiful attractions

Israel is a beautiful and energy-filled country. Jerusalem in particular is one of those few places where a huge wave of energy flows. You will fill it when you’re there. All the people praying and having strong convictions add up to a lot of energy.

Anyway, it’s a wonderful place to visit, with many attractions. Is it safe? Not completely. You need to be careful about pickpockets and thieves that like to operate in crowded areas which there are plenty of in Jerusalem for example. Also, this can be a place that is sometimes at risk of terrorist attacks. Just do your research before visiting and make sure nothing bad is happening at that time. And you will have a great trip.

Besides Jerusalem which should be the first visit, Haifa is one of those cities where you feel safe and at-home in. It has a certain feel, an easygoing nature about it that will appeal to most people and that’s why it should be on your to-visit list.

Nazareth is probably one of the most known cities in the world as it being the birthplace of Jesus. This is a very well known pilgrimage destination but there’s more to it than this as well.

The Dead Sea is a natural wonder that should be explored by anyone. This place is an experience on its own, something you won’t encounter anywhere else on earth. Be prepared to be awed.

Other important destinations are the Sea of Galilee, Timna Park, Bethlehem, Masada, Mar Saba Monastery, Beit Shean (a well preserved Roman town that you should see), Akko (this will take you back to the time of the Crusaders), Jaffa.

Israel has many things for many people, not just for people on pilgrimages. It’s a very spiritual country that also has impressive landscapes, important historical buildings and cities and it’s a place that’s worth exploring in detail.

Need to visit these places on my visit November 2022

Needed to see the red sea that moses parted. needed to see the Jordan river where the children of Israel passed through on dry land, and where they took the 12 stones from the midst. Needed to go to Gilgal-in the east border of Jericho where the 12 stones that was taken of Jordan river was packed. Needed to see Jericho where the wall Fell down. Needed to go at mount sodom near the Dead Sea where Lot’s wife becomes a pillow of salt, (or near the desert site). Need to go to Jerusalem the place where christ was crucified. Cave of treasures where Adam, eve and abraham was buried. OG- in bashan where the remnant of giants were; Needed to see where the garden of eden is also.

Attractions and tours

Needed to go to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Needed to see where Israel oil comes from. Where is the safest place to stay in Israel when visiting? I am a jamaican visiting for the first time.

Safe and friendly

Israel is way safer than Winnipeg MB, Canada where I live. No crime and Israeli security forces curb terrorism very well. Let alone plenty of sites to visit. Great food and hospitality.

Hi. I’m Iranian and i hope one day make peace without Islamic republic of Iran. I like travel and study in Israel. Viva Iran and Israel

It’s on my bucket list. I pray I get to go too.

Israel is safe

In Israel we travel by public transport all the time and it is perfectly safe.Comapre the number of mass shooting in the U.S to the number of terrorist attacks on bus stations and you’ll realize how ridiculous the piece claims are. Near border kidnapping? When did this ever happen?I’ve travelled all over the world and find Israel to be one of the safest places to be.

Bucket List

I just want to place my feet on the top of the Mt. Of Olives where Jesus left this earth. And scripture says it’s where He will come back to when He returns. That’s on my bucket list. That is all. I need a double lung transplant, I pray I get to go.

Israel is the best

I stand with Israel in these troubled times and am disgusted by the terrorism unleashed by Hamas. Israel has a full right to remove Gaza from the map after the last events. God bless Israel.

I need a contact in Israel

I’ve not been to Israel and I want to go now can someone in Israel talk to me privately [email protected] Thanks

Isn’t it at war right now

Isn’t Israel at war right now? I saw multiple news reports stating this. So this review is very misleading. Israel is extremely dangerous and I’m pretty sure US nationals have been kidnapped by palestine or have been unfairly arrested. Don’t go to Israel at this time. The chances of you getting killed or caught in the middle of a war during your time in Israel is extremely high. A lot of it’s citizens are dying and have ended up dead.

As an Israeli

An opinion from an Israeli: 1. Excluding war days like the months following 7.10, all the borders area are considered very safe – except west-bank and gaza border areas which are ALWAYS very dangerous. 2. This means (again – excluding wars) you can 100% travel and hike in the Golan Heights, Galil, Arava and south areas until Eilat. I would defiantly take my family to such trips, feeling safe and protected. 3. Getting robbed, or sexually abused while hiking or “in the wild” can happen only by Arabs (Israeli citizens). Best thing is to avoid any contact with 14-35 years old Arab males, which commit the highest rate of violence crimes in israel. The worst thing that can happen for a male is being robbed. For a woman – being raped. They won’t murder. Fortunately, Arabs do go hiking or remote camping occasionally. Markets and bazars are safe, as long as you stick to daylight and crowded places. 4. Israelis are very nice and would be very glad to help you, so just ask kindly. 5. Generally, Israel cities are VERY safe.

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Article Contents

• Overall Risk
• Transport & Taxis Risk
• Pickpockets Risk
• Natural Disasters Risk
• Mugging Risk
• Terrorism Risk
• Women Travelers Risk
• Weather Averages (Temperatures)
• User Reviews
• Share Your Experience

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• Passports, travel and living abroad
• Travel abroad
• Foreign travel advice

Safety and security

This travel advice covers Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).

This guide also has safety advice for regions of Israel and the OPTs .

There is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times.    

UK Counter Terrorism Policing has information and advice on staying safe abroad and what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Find out how to reduce your risk from terrorism while abroad .

Terrorism in Israel and the OPTs

Terrorists are very likely to try and carry out attacks in Israel and the OPTs.

There was a large-scale terrorist attack by Hamas into southern Israel on 7 October 2023 where over 1,200 people were killed. Hamas continues to launch rockets into Israel and the Israeli Defence Forces are conducting significant military activity in Gaza.   

Terrorist attacks in Israel and the OPTs are very likely to continue with an increased threat of attacks, including by individuals acting alone.

Any attacks could be indiscriminate, including places visited by foreigners such as:

• the Old City in Jerusalem
• government, military and police installations
• security personnel including military and police
• transport networks
• businesses with western interests
• crowded places

Areas where foreign nationals and tourists are known to gather may be at higher risk of attack. Stay aware of your surroundings, keep up to date with local media reports and follow the advice of local authorities.

Examples of recent significant attacks include:

• one person was killed and 17 injured during a ramming attack in Ra’anana
• 2 people were killed and one injured during a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley
• one person was killed and 6 people injured during a car-ramming incident in Tel Aviv
• one person was killed and 3 people injured in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv
• 7 people were killed and 3 injured during a shooting attack in Neve Yaakov, East Jerusalem

Terrorist kidnap

Terrorist kidnap is a risk in Gaza and along the border with Egypt. There is a large-scale conflict happening in areas of southern Israel close to the border with Gaza and Hamas has taken hundreds of hostages, including British nationals, across the border and into Gaza.

British nationals are seen as legitimate targets, including tourists, humanitarian aid workers, journalists and business travellers. If you are kidnapped, the reason for your presence is unlikely to protect you or secure your safe release. 

The long-standing policy of the British government is to not make substantive concessions to hostage takers. The British government considers that paying ransoms and releasing prisoners builds the capability of terrorist groups and finances their activities. This can, in turn, increase the risk of further hostage-taking. The Terrorism Act (2000) makes payments to terrorists illegal. 

Political situation

There is currently a large-scale conflict happening in areas of southern Israel close to the border with Gaza. See Warnings and insurance for more information, including information for British nationals who are in Israel and the OPTs .

Keep up to date with local travel advice on local news outlets and international outlets like the Access Coordination Unit .

Rocket fire can affect most areas of Israel and Israeli air strikes also continue into  Gaza. Be cautious and make sure you know the safety actions that you should take if an Israeli warning siren sounds. Follow advice from local authorities and stay informed of the security situation through the media and this travel advice. No warning sirens will sound inside Gaza. See Gaza .

Regional tensions

Military activity in the red sea area.

Military activity is currently underway in response to attempts by Houthi militants to prevent movement of international shipping in the Red Sea. While the area of activity is limited to the Red Sea and Yemen, there is a possibility that travel advice for nearby countries could change at short notice. You should continue to monitor travel advice and follow any relevant instructions from local authorities.

Violent incidents

In Israel and the West Bank, there is a risk of violent incidents, including:

• vehicle rammings
• stone throwing attacks on people and vehicles

Incidents have occurred:

• in Tel Aviv
• in Be’er Sheva
• Damascus Gate
• Herod’s gate
• Lion’s Gate
• in Jordan Valley
• along Route 60 (especially junctions near Nablus), Route 443 and other West Bank arterial roads used by both Palestinians and Israelis
• at Israeli checkpoints

Incidents have involved protestors (Israelis and Palestinians), Israeli security forces and civilians (including Israeli settlers). Tourists or bystanders could be caught up in incidents.

Demonstrations and armed clashes

Large political demonstrations can happen across Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Demonstrations and other forms of civil unrest can occur at short notice and often turn violent.

Entry and exit to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv can be affected by demonstrations. Check before you travel.

You should:

• check local news before travelling for information on recent clashes
• avoid large gatherings and demonstrations
• check locally before travelling to areas where there has been recent violence and follow the instructions of the local authorities

If Israeli security operations or armed clashes are happening near you, stay inside and wait for the local authorities to confirm that the situation is calm before moving to a different location.

There is increased risk of political tension (which can cause demonstrations and clashes) during events such as:

• Thursday and Saturday evenings
• after Friday prayers
• Jewish high holidays (Passover, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Succoth)
• Ramadan, in particular Laylat Al Qadr
• other religious holidays
• anniversaries including Independence Day (14 May, Hebrew calendar dates vary), Jerusalem Day (date varies), Land Day (30 March), Nakba Day (15 May)

Risks increase when religious or national holidays overlap.

Some of these protests have led to violent clashes.

Refugee camps

Be extremely cautious if visiting refugee camps. Hebron and Palestinian refugee camps have previously been the site of violent clashes.

Settlements

There have been recent violent incidents in settlements and settlement outposts, including near Beit El, Homesh, Shilo and Evyatar.   

Protecting your belongings

Keep your personal belongings in a safe place. Theft of passports, credit cards, and valuables from public beaches is common.

Laws and cultural differences

Personal id.

Carry identification with you at all times (for example a copy of the personal details and entry stamp pages of your passport).

In Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, clothing should cover your shoulders, upper arms, and legs above the knee.

Locals in ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhoods such as Bnei Brak, Modi’in Illit, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh and Safed can react strongly to anyone (particularly women) dressed less conservatively. Check locations of ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods and towns in travel guides.

Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims. The dates vary by year and country. If you are in the OPTs during this time, do not:

• eat, drink, smoke or chew gum in public in the daytime, including in your car
• play loud music or dance
• swear in public

Children under the age of 8 do not fast during Ramadan.

Be aware that access and prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan have seen restrictions and heightened security measures by Israeli authorities. This includes age and gender-based entry restrictions, and routine physical searches. There will be a heightened security environment and tense atmosphere during Ramadan in the Old City.

Since 7 October Israeli authorities have limited access to Jerusalem (and Israel in general) for residents of the West Bank, enforcing age and gender-specific restrictions for entry during Ramadan. While women aged 51 or over and men aged 56 or over with special permits have been granted entry for prayers, many potential worshippers have been turned away. Additionally, there have been routine instances of physical searches and detentions.

Get more advice when you arrive from your tour guide, hotel or business contacts.

You should also: 

• check opening hours of shops and restaurants
• be aware that if hotels and restaurants are providing food or drink in fasting hours, they may separate you from Islamic guests, for example with screens
• follow local dress codes – clothing that does not meet local dress codes may cause more offence at this time
• be aware that driving may be erratic, particularly when people are trying to get home at dusk or be aware that fasting can cause tiredness, particularly during the later afternoon and early evening
• be patient and show tolerance

Buying property

There are risks in buying property in Israeli settlements on land considered to be occupied under international law in East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank and the Golan. Be aware that a future peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, or between Israel and Syria, could have consequences for property you buy in these settlements.

FCDO does not offer legal advice on or become involved in private property disputes.

Illegal drugs and prison sentences

If you’re caught with drugs, you can expect a prison sentence.

Using cameras and binoculars

Be sensitive about taking pictures of people in Muslim and Orthodox Jewish areas. Do not take photographs of military or police officers or installations.

LGBT+ travellers

Israeli law does not criminalise same-sex sexual relations between consenting adults. In the OPTs , same-sex sexual activity is legal in the West Bank but illegal in Gaza, where it carries a 10-year prison sentence.

Attitudes towards LGBT+ issues in some parts of Palestinian and Israeli society can be hostile.

In more conservative Israeli areas in the West Bank, including in ultra-Orthodox communities, all displays of affection in public, regardless of gender or sexuality, may receive negative attention.

In Palestinian society, same-sex relationships are largely taboo. Some Palestinian groups may violently oppose cultural events and demonstrations, which they see as inconsistent with their values. This includes those seen as linked to the LGBT+ community, even if the event is not intended to promote LGBT+ rights. In these cases, the Palestinian security forces and police may not always act effectively to protect participants. Be aware of these risks. Liaise with local authorities before planning or organising any event.

Tel Aviv has a large, active LGBT+ community and a big annual Pride parade. Jerusalem also has an annual Pride parade, but there has been a heavy security presence at the event since a fatal stabbing in 2015. Be aware of your personal security if attending.

See more advice for LGBT+ travellers .

Wildlife, animal products and souvenirs

If you’re caught breaking local laws on import and export of wild animals, expect to receive a substantial fine and up to 2 years in prison. For more information on the regulations and laws in Israel see the Israeli Nature and Park Authority website .

Transport risks

Road travel.

If you are planning to drive in Israel and the OPTs , see information on driving abroad .   

There are frequent road accidents, due to:

• erratic driving
• unreliable vehicle maintenance

Radar speed traps operate on some roads and police issue heavy fines for speeding.

Avoid driving into ultra-Orthodox Jewish areas of Jerusalem on Shabbat. Shabbat is from sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. If you attempt to drive into these areas, local residents may throw stones at your car.

Licences and permits

You need a 1968 international driving permit ( IDP )  to drive on a UK driving licence in Israel.

You need to carry a green card to prove you have the minimum insurance cover.

Hiring a car

If you want to drive across into the West Bank, check that you will be covered by insurance there. Some hire companies do not insure vehicles taken there. It may be easier to hire a fully insured car from a company in East Jerusalem.

Hitchhiking

It is not safe to hitchhike in Israel and the OPTs .

Driving in the desert

If you’re travelling to the desert, you should:

• go with others
• take a supply of water
• take a mobile phone
• let someone know your itinerary and expected return time

Extreme weather and natural disasters

Find out what you can do to prepare for and respond to extreme weather and natural hazards .

Roads can flood during extreme weather conditions. Flash flooding is a risk, particularly in the arid southern region of the Negev. Check risk areas locally.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are a risk in Israel and the OPTs . The US Federal Emergency Management Agency website has advice about what to do before, during and after an earthquake .   

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Is traveling to Israel safe?

“Is traveling to Israel safe?”

This is probably the question I have been asked the most.

Whether you’re floating in the  Dead Sea , lying on the beach in  Tel Aviv , or hiking at  Masada , you will feel safe (and be safe). Most of the tourists I take on tours tell me they feel safer strolling around Tel Aviv or  Jerusalem  in the evening or at night than they do in their own hometowns. Surveys shows that tourists feel a high degree of personal safety in Israel (and they rate taxi drivers very poorly – but that is a different matter).

So why do people think Israel isn’t safe?

Most of what you hear about Israel on the news won’t give you the impression that Israel is a safe destination: rockets from Gaza, terrorism, Hezbollah and the war in Syria that is filtering through to Israel…

The media, and mostly the news, creates a very selective (and mostly negative) portrait of Israel. The reality is very different.

Fear of visiting Israel comes from a lack of knowledge, which ironically comes from all of the over-reporting in the media.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the smallest conflicts in the world in terms of casualties. You hear a great deal about it for two main reasons:

1) Places in the holy land such as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth are part of the West’s cultural heritage, meaning that every small incident that occurs there is reported on by all the different media outlets. If something were to happen in a city in China or Africa, most people wouldn’t have heard of the place and, therefore, wouldn’t pay any attention to it or place any importance on it.

2) If a tree fell in a forest and a hundred photographers captured the image, does that mean the tree fell a hundred times?

It’s very easy to be a foreign reporter in Israel. Israel is a Western country with a developed infrastructure and, more importantly, it’s a democratic country with freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and human rights. It’s easy for a foreign journalist to stay in a Jerusalem hotel, wake up in the morning and drive twenty minutes to Bethlehem, snap some pictures of a demonstration (and a demonstration of young people facing off with soldiers always makes for good pictures), before driving back to Jerusalem, sending the pictures to Western media outlets, and going out for a drink in the evening.

This is also the reason why there are more foreign journalists in Jerusalem than in most other important cities in the world.

Let me be clear:

I am not saying that the media is lying to you and that if you come you’ll find peace in the Middle East.

The political situation is complicated and won’t be solved any time soon. But just as you can travel safely in the U.S. even though there are mass shootings there once in a while, and just as you can travel safely in Europe even though terror attacks occur there, you can also travel and feel safe in Israel.

Security in Israel

Since Israel has long history of dealing with terror, there is more security in public places.

The first place you’ll encounter it is at the airport. In the past tourists noticed it more, but today you see armed forces in most airports around the world so you probably won’t consider it to be unusual.

If you are (or were) a member of an extreme rightwing, leftwing, or religious organization, there is a good chance that you’ll be asked about it. Somehow they know.

There are two things that most Western tourists notice regarding security in Israel:

1) Upon entering public places you’ll encounter a civilian guard who asks you to open your bag and let them see what is inside. At entrances to train or central bus stations you will need to put your bags through a baggage scanner.

2) Israel has compulsory national service. Men have to serve three years and women two years. However a soldier won’t (and isn’t allowed to) approach you unless you’re going through a checkpoint.

I am mentioning it here because in Israel you do see more soldiers than in other countries. On Sunday mornings you’ll see a lot soldiers on the streets as they head back to their army camps, and on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings you’ll see them coming back home.

Be responsible for your own safety

No one can guarantee that nothing will happen, but there are things that you can do to minimize unnecessary risks. It’s quite simple really…

Don’t try to enter Gaza.

Don’t try to cross a border where you shouldn’t.

Distance yourself from violent demonstrations if you run into them.

And as Lt Dan said: Try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed.

Here you can check with the  U.S department of State  to see if there are is any risk involved in traveling in the area.

And now that you know that Israel is safe, you can start planning your trip to Israel.

If you’re planning a trip to Israel and want my team to build you a whole package including luxury hotels, guides and attractions, then you can  schedule a call here .If you’re traveling on a modest budget, you can also purchase my Booklets, in which I basically wrote down everything that I say on my 3 most popular tours: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Judaean Desert. I also added maps, pictures and graphics which will enable you to be your own guide.  The booklets  are only sold outside Israel, so order now and come prepared! Or download as a  PDF  or  EPUB (e-book) .

I want my internet site to be the best source of information about traveling to Israel. For that to be the case, I need your help. I want to know what you want to know, so if you have any questions, please write them down here and I will do my best to answer them!

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Is it safe to travel to Israel?

Flights to tel aviv cancelled as dozens killed and hundreds injured in day of bloodshed, article bookmarked.

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Israel ’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that his country is “at war” after Hamas fired thousands of rockets across the border from Gaza on Saturday.

At least 40 Israelis have been killed and hundreds have been hospitalised, local media reported, as emerging reports from Gaza state multiple are dead and wounded in Israeli strikes on the besieged strip.

The surprise offensive has seen Hamas gunmen cross the border in attacks by land, sea and air, as warning sirens sounded across southern and central parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and reports emerged of civilians and soldiers being taken hostage.

In a rare public statement, Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif urged all Palestinians to confront Israel, adding: “We’ve decided to say enough is enough. This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth.”

As the international community watches on in horror, here we take a look at the UK’s current travel advice for Israel:

Travel advice to Israel

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to:

• The Sheba’a Farms and Ghajjar
• Within 500m of the border with Lebanon (the ‘Blue Line’) east of Metula, including the northern edge of the town and within 500m of the border with Syria (the ‘Alpha Line’).

The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to:

• Areas north of and including Jenin city, Burqin and Arranah in the north of the West Bank. This includes Jenin refugee camp and all areas north of this until the Jalamah checkpoint for access to Israel
• The city of Nablus, Joseph’s Tomb, and the Balata and New Askar refugee camps near Nablus and the village of Huwara, south of Nablus.

Where is the conflict happening right now?

Have flights been cancelled.

Flights have continued to operate at Tel Aviv airport, the main gateway to the nation. But many airlines are diverting or cancelling flights.

Wizz Air has so far diverted four flights that were en route to Israel when the attacks began. Airbus jets from Catania, Cluj, Debrecen and Warsaw all diverted to Larnaca, the main airport on the island of Cyprus.

A Wizz Air flight from Rome to Tel Aviv turned around and flew back to its starting point – as did an Anadulojet service from Istanbul.

Two Lufthansa flights from Frankfurt and one from Munich have been grounded, as have departures on Brussels Airlines from the Belgian capital and SunExpress from Antalya.

From the UK, Virgin Atlantic’s overnight flight from London Heathrow arrived at Tel Aviv at 5am as normal. British Airways has a flight from Heathrow this afternoon, which is still shown as departing normally.

The Independent has asked BA if it will be going ahead – and whether passengers booked to or from Tel Aviv will be given the option to change without penalty.

Saturday is a very quiet day at Ben Gurion international airport, serving Tel Aviv, due to observation of the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat). It runs from shortly before sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. No aircraft from El Al, the Israeli national airline, are in the air.

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Israel ready for ‘all-out war’ in Lebanon

The Israeli military says its Northern Command has approved operational plans for war with Lebanon.

Israel is ready for an “all-out war” in Lebanon and has plans approved for an offensive targeting Hezbollah, officials have said.

The claims from Israel’s foreign minister and military late on Tuesday followed Hezbollah’s release of threatening drone footage. The climbing tension conflicts with United States efforts to avert an escalation amid months of low-level hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border.

Keep reading

Us envoy meets with israeli leaders as tensions with hezbollah escalate, israel’s gallant rejects french initiative to defuse lebanon tensions, does ceasefire in gaza mean israeli escalation with lebanon’s hezbollah, two killed in southern lebanon as hezbollah-israel fighting soars.

The nine-minute drone footage of the Israeli port city of Haifa filmed in daytime, showed civilian and military areas, including malls and residential quarters, in addition to a weapons manufacturing complex and missile defence batteries.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded vehemently in a post on X, calling out Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah for boasting about filming the ports of Haifa, which are operated by foreign companies from China and India.

Nasrallah boasts today about filming the ports of Haifa, operated by international companies from China and India, and threatens to attack them. We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be… — ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 18, 2024

“We are very close to the moment of decision to change the rules against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely hit,” he wrote.

Later, the Israeli military said in a statement that Ori Gordin, head of its Northern Command, which includes the front line with Hezbollah, has approved plans to mount a ground assault across Israel’s northern border.

“As part of the situational assessment, operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated, and decisions were taken on the continuation of increasing the readiness of troops in the field,” it said.

Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in border fighting since shortly after the start of the war on Gaza, following the October 7 attacks on Israel. The confrontation is increasingly expanding, with both sides saying they are ready to go to war.

Nasrallah is scheduled to deliver a speech on Wednesday afternoon. He has said in the past that Hezbollah will only stop its attacks if Israel halts its invasion of Gaza, which has killed at least 37,000 Palestinians.

The Israeli military has been regularly launching air strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war. On Tuesday, it claimed to have hit military infrastructure across multiple areas in the south of the country.

On Monday it said that it killed a “central operative” in Hezbollah’s rocket division in a drone strike. A week previously, it assassinated Taleb Abdullah , reportedly the commander of a Hezbollah division covering the western sector of the front line between the border with Israel and the Litani river.

Hezbollah recently said that it has carried out more than 2,100 military operations against Israel since October 8 in what it says is an effort to support Palestinians.

More than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, including journalists and paramedics, over the past eight months, with 25 deaths in Israel. At least 90,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, and more than 60,000 have been forced from their homes in northern Israel.

The US is pushing diplomatically to prevent an escalation, White House envoy Amos Hochstein said on Tuesday during a trip to Lebanon.

“We have seen an escalation over the last few weeks. And what President Biden wants to do is avoid a further escalation to a greater war,” Hochstein told reporters in Beirut after meetings in Israel a day earlier.

20 Things To Know Before You Travel To Israel in 2024

The first time I visited Israel I was surprised in many ways. There were so many things I did not expect that I decided to start writing them all down. I love going to a country without any expectations, because those who have expectations can only get disappointed! Right? I found many reasons to visit Israel , but also some things I didn't like and that is how came up with this list of things to know before you travel to Israel.

June 2017 was my first time visiting Israel and I had such a blast that I decided to travel to Israel a couple times in the last years. All my travel tips in this blog are based on my own experiences traveling in Israel.

Stay connected on your trip to Israel and fix yourself a local sim card. Click on the link to read my complete guide for buying a sim card for Israel in 2024 . A prepaid sim card is one of the few things that is cheap in Israel! :)

Buying a sim card for Israel online is the best way to stay connected but you can also buy a local prepaid sim card at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport. Much more expensive but I will show you where to go in my blog about buying a sim card at Tel Aviv Airport in 2024 .

When you decide to travel to Israel and are looking for tours around the country I can recommend you to use Abraham Tours . I have had an amazing time and got many lifetime experiences through them. They also have cool group trips and can organize some of the cool activities that I listed in my article with  33 Best Things to do in Israel .

1. Is it safe to travel to Israel

Yes! It is safe to travel to Israel in 2023. Over the last years there have not been reported any major terrorism attacks although the Israel - Palestine conflict escalated again in 2021 thing have been quiet lately. Security is really tight at the airport but when partying in Tel Aviv or floating in the Dead Sea you won't notice anything strange. I have never felt unsafe on any of my trips to Israel.

But this Israel travel blog is not about all these kind of things I want to keep it travel related and tell you about my experiences traveling in Israel and this is my list of things you need to know when visiting Israel in 2023.

you may also like...

2. Country of hummus

You might not expect a dip to be healthy but hummus is actually pretty healthy and originates from Israel. With every meal you will get a plate of hummus either as a starter or as a main dish. It is pretty normal for Israeli’s to have a Hummus lunch, just some bread and a bowl of hummus. There is even a popular Instagram account called Hot Dudes And Hummus, check it out if you are into it before your trip to Israel so you know what to expect. Click here for a cool food tour through Tel Aviv .

Looking for things to do in Israel ? Click on the link for the best Israel activities, including 8 not so standard activities like: ATV riding and a hot air balloon.

3. Sharing food is common

A trip to Israel is not complete if you didn’t try 281 dishes in 1 week! I am a big fan of 9 small plates on the table and dipping your bread or vegetable in all of them. A good thing to know before you travel to Israel because ordering a main dish for yourself is weird! :) Israelis love to share food and expect them to order a lot of different things and just try everything. Ordering a main dish just for yourself will frown eyebrows.

4. Food is suppose to be kosher

Food has rules in Israel as far as that counts for religious people. You will often find restaurants stating that they offer ‘kosher’ food, which basically means they stick to the rules of the religion, It is something like Halal food for Muslims. Main rule is: don’t mix dairy with meat. In reality most young Israeli’s don’t care at all, but it is good to know when you are planning a trip to Israel.

5. Betzavta - dine at a local home

Betzavta means together and as food is an important part of the Israeli culture I think this is one of the most unique things to do in Israel. Do you want to learn up close and personal about the Israeli culture than book a family dinner at someone's home. Go to the Betzavta website book your dinner and they match you with someone nearby that is going to cook you an amazing family dinner in their house. Experience the Israeli hospitality to the its fullest.

6. Fight for your right in Israel

Living in Israel is unlike in any other country and some expats explained me that they really had to get used to some Israeli habits when they moved here. From your 18th almost everyone in Israel has to join the army for at least 2 years, boys and girls. I saw kids walking around with a big gun in their hand who looked half my age, but on the contrary also cute girls flirting with me in their uniform.

The military service is compulsory but it will definitely form you as a person. Israeli’s have a getting things done mentality and can be super direct! Get used to it, this hands-on mentality is how they have been raised.

7. Safety issues in Israel

Israel will always be a country with issues and yes there are always people that will have their opinions about the conflicts going on here. But I did not go to Israel to discuss this or to find out more about it. I was there to see the beauty, the crazy and the holy! But of course I can understand that safety issues are important visiting Israel tips.

But just because Israel is a place of conflict that does not mean it isn’t safe. I have walked around on the streets at night and during the day and went to remote areas in the South and visit the Dead Sea, but didn’t stumble upon anything that made me feel unsafe.

Security is so tight that it actually annoyed me like crazy sometimes. Expect long lines at the airport security. I waited 40 minutes to go through security, got questioned 20 minutes before entering Israel and 10 minutes when I left. Why? I assume it contributes to make Israel a safe place, which it definitely is nowadays. Safety issues? No worries…

8. Israel is damn expensive

This beer was $12!

This is may be one of the most important things to know before you travel to Israel. Wow Israel you really surprised me on my first visit with your price levels! I did not expect anything like this at all. I just came from Sydney and was used to pay $10 for a beer, but a beer in Tel Aviv can also easily be $10. Damn it! Groceries are not cheap either.

Apparently the salaries are not outrageous like in Australia so respect for those who are living in Israel and have to deal with it. Street food is like $6 - $10, mid range hotel room $130, car rental $70 per day, meal at the beach $35. Damn I wish you were cheaper Israel!

9. Tel Aviv is ugly

When I walked around my first time in Tel Aviv I was not really impressed by its beauty. From my friends balcony I could overlook the city and that didn’t really help either. Don’t expect a stunning historical city with beautiful squares like in Europe, during the day just go to the beach is my best travel tip for Tel Aviv.

The best Israel travel tip is to see the this city at night. Tel Aviv’s beauty comes out at night and wow the stories are true! Damn what an epic nightlife Tel Aviv has! Unlimited bars, clubs and restaurants and the cool thing is that it is bustling everywhere. Inside the bars and outside on the patio. There are so many people hanging around in the streets. Don’t get disappointed walking around Tel Aviv by day, wait till the sun goes down! ;)

Have a look at this boutique hotel in Tel Aviv. It has a rooftop for guests only with the most amazing views. Read my complete review of Fabric Tel Aviv in the link. Looking for even more luxury then try out the Renoma Hotel

10. Smoking in bars/restaurants is still a thing

It felt like I was stepping back in time when I entered a bar for the first time back in 2017. Even in Thailand there are places where there is a strict law against smoking in bars, but everywhere I went in Israel people were smoking cigarettes. For the die-hard smokers this will be paradise, but for me it was hell! My clothes smelled so awful and my hair even worse. Every time I went out I had to take a shower when I came home in the middle of the night! Well, there was no escaping I had to get used to it…

Update: in 2023 things have slowly changed for the better. Laws are much stricter now and there are many bars with a no smoking policy. Must say though still many people smoke in Israel and sitting on the terrace outdoor there is a big chance the table next to you is smoking cigarettes. Still can't get used to it: disgusting!

11. Carry a travel adapter

12. No Uber, but Gett Taxi

A very common thing in the streets of Israel: an electric bike!

There is no Uber in Israel. Instead you have to download Gett Taxi as that is the taxi app for Israel, cheaper than a normal taxi and the standard way of getting around in Tel Aviv. For long distance trips there are very comfortable busses, trains are comfortable but train stations are not centrally located.

13. Bedouin culture still exists

The South of Israel is covered in sand, this is the playground of the Negev Desert. There is hardly any life possible and obviously there are not that many places of interest but there are some oasis’ and since I had never been to any of them it was cool to stay overnight at one of these places.

The Bedouin culture is still alive here and drinking tea and eating there the local food is a great experience.

Want to experience this on your trip to Israel, the click here to find out more about Desert tours .

14. Second biggest Burning Man Festival: MidBurn

The desert can be fierce with temperatures touching more than 40 degrees during the day and getting as low as 10 degrees at night, but somehow this environment once a year lures about 15,000 people to the middle of nowhere. Israel is home to the second biggest Burning Man festival after the original one in Nevada, USA.

I was lucky enough to get tickets (with a foreign passport it is easier) for this sold-out festival and to go wild in the desert for 5 days straight. Put this festival in your agenda when you are planning to to visit Israel. What an unbelievable experience, one of the most amazing festivals I have ever been to.

For the complete Israel festival Calendar for 2023  have a look in the link.

Midburn Israel is like CrazyLand, everything imaginable is possible! People come to Burning Man to explore what is beyond their borders and comfort zone in terms of sexuality, drugs, meeting people, giving, taking, caring. I am not a virgin anymore, I became a Burner now!

100% I will be back and experience MidBurn again some day… Read here more about how I experienced the 10 principles of Burning Man at the MidBurn festival in Israel, including a cool video of 3-minutes about my festival experience.

15. Liberal drugs policy

The country is very liberal towards drugs. I don’t know if that is one of the best Israel travel tips, but nowadays drugs is a very much accepted thing in society, although no one ever talks about it. Except me! :)

Drugs are officially forbidden by law of course and I am not encouraging you to use drugs in Israel, but that said... everything is possible. If you have read my article 30 adventures from 5 years around the world  you would know that I am normally not a fan of using drugs in a foreign country, but… I stumbled upon a local in Jerusalem smoking a joint in the streets with the police only meters away and a complete army peloton approaching us. I asked him if I could film him for my Snapchat and he said: no problem!

Smoking a joint is even accepted inside a bar. Although I know the MidBurn Festival is not really a benchmark but I was able to lay my hands on anything imaginable. Although I had the opportunity I still have never tried LSD (Acid), but Israel will be the country where I tried GHB for the first time in my life. As I said MidBurn was epic! ;)

Don't tell people because of what Traveltomtom said about drugs was one of the reasons to visit Israel ! I did not even name it in the list of 24 reasons, it was just an observation. Click on the link for way better reasons to travel to Israel.

16. Themed beaches

Tel Aviv is a beach destination and that means the city center is only footsteps away from the ocean. But before you walk to the beach make sure to ask someone where to go. This is one of those things to know before you travel to Israel or things can get awkward. LOL! A lot of beaches are specifically catered for a group of people whether religious, gay, families and even a beach where dogs are running around freely. Totally in line with the crazy contrasts in this country the gay beach is next to the religious beach.

17. Israel is gay friendly

You might not expect it from such a religious country, but Israel is on its way to become the gay capital of the world. About 30% of the people living in Tel Aviv are gay. That said there is only one gay bar in Tel Aviv. According to locals there is no need for more as there are so many gay people around, every bar is gay bar!

If you are looking for more gay-information then sign up for a gay tour through Tel Aviv .

An LGTB traveler? Then this definitely is a recommended and fun thing to do when planning a trip to Israel. If you are gay then this is your Mecca! ;)

18. Second biggest Gay Pride in the world

With all those gay people living in Tel Aviv it is no wonder that the city hosts the second biggest Gay Pride in the world. A massive parade will roam the city streets of Tel Aviv in the early morning and end up on the beach with a crazy party. Around 200.000 people witness the parade and party all day long.

I was lucky to be part of it, although totally straight I loved it to bits and pieces, what an epic party! When possible try to squeeze this into your itinerary.

There is also a Pride Week Package  (including accommodation and parties) available with Abraham Tours. Check it out if you are interested.

19. Jerusalem is the craziest (holiest) city in the world

Keeping up with the contrasts lets talk about Jerusalem! This city is a place you have never seen before. Why oh why did those religious people all chose Jerusalem to be holy?

The Western Wall is the most holy place in the world for Jews, only a stone throw away from Jezus’ tomb where hordes Christians flock and the third most holy place for Muslims is just across the street. Damn it can you make it even more complicated?

Walking around here as a non-religious tourist you will definitely feel the Holy Spirit from whichever religion. After a day strolling through the spectacular old city I ended up in a gay bar, can there be any more contrasts?

One of the best Israel travel tips: Tel Aviv plays, Jerusalem prays.

In need of a great guide in Jerusalem? Abraham Tours hosts many cool tours in Jerusalem. One of them is the  Jerusalem Pub Crawl , a must do when visiting Jerusalem and looking for a cool crowd to explore the fabulous nightlife.

There are also Jerusalem day-tours from Tel Aviv, 3 and 4 day tours including Jerusalem and Dead Sea and many more.

Check out some more tour inspiration and Israel travel ideas below! Click on the 'next page' button to see more tours. 100ILS = $27   

20. Lowest point on earth is in Israel

We all know about the highest point on earth, but not that many people realize that the Dead Sea on the border of Israel and Jordan is the lowest point on earth; a crazy landscape to discover and for sure worth the drive downhill. Enjoy the spectacular views from up top or jump in the only boat that drives on the Dead Sea apart from a research vessel.

How to arrange this boat ride on the Dead Sea? Click below to get connected with Abraham Hostels as they are the unique seller of this tour.

There are a dozen different Dead Sea tours, see below. 100ILS = $27  

Planning a trip to Israel in 2024

On my first trip to Israel I was lucky enough to be chosen by Vibe Israel to join their yearly returning travel blogging trip and they planned most of my trip to Israel. I wish though I had known a couple things before I traveled to Israel and therefore I hope this list was helpful to you.

I sincerely hope you will consider this country to be your next travel destination and that my blogs about this controversial country convinced you that it is an amazing place to travel and to experience its great contrasts.

I feel privileged that because of my travels I am able to take away misconceptions and in that light I also took a trip to Syria and a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan !

In the next link you will find 33 things to do in Israel , not just the standard stuff but some epic adventures like zip lining, rappeling, ATV trips, a hot air balloon ride and more. In my 24 reasons to visit Israel I summed up a whole list of why you should visit this country if you are still not convinced.

If this blog about traveling to Israel was helpful would you like to help me a little? Please pin it on Pinterest, tweet it on Twitter or share it in a Facebook Group or somewhere on the internet. It would mean the world to me! Thanks a million...

May you still have questions about traveling to Israel please leave me a comment below and I am more than happy to help you out.

Enjoy your trip to Israel!

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Amid Gaza war, Israel warns could send Lebanon 'back to Stone Age'

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Israel launched air strikes on Gaza Thursday after warning Hezbollah, Hamas's ally in Lebanon, to avoid a large-scale war that would send the neighbouring country "back to the Stone Age".

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant made the comment during a visit to Washington, where he discussed the Gaza war, long-running efforts toward a truce, and ways to avoid a wider regional conflagration.

As cross-border tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have risen, Gallant stressed that "we do not want war, but we are preparing for every scenario".

"Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict massive damage in Lebanon if a war is launched," he said of the Shiite militant group that, like Hamas, is backed by Israel's arch foe Iran.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near daily cross-border fire since Hamas launched its October 7 attack that sparked the bloodiest ever Gaza war.

But tensions have surged since Israel said this month that its Lebanon war plans are ready, sparking threats from Hezbollah that, in the event of all-out war, none of Israel would be safe.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Gallant this week that a war with Hezbollah could have "terrible consequences for the Middle East" and urged a diplomatic solution.

UN humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths warned that Lebanon was "the flashpoint beyond all flashpoints" and that a full war would be "potentially apocalyptic".

Germany has joined Canada in advising its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country, reiterating warnings first issued shortly after October 7.

In the latest clashes on Wednesday, Lebanese media reported about 10 Israeli strikes near the border while Hezbollah claimed six attacks against Israeli military positions.

A US official said Washington was engaged in "fairly intensive conversations" with Israel, Lebanon and other actors and believed that no side sought a "major escalation".

- 'Running in terror' -

Meanwhile, the Gaza war at the heart of regional tensions ground on, despite comments Sunday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the "intense phase" of the conflict was nearing an end.

Israeli air strikes overnight and early Thursday killed at least five people in Gaza City, said the Hamas-ruled territory's civil defence agency and Al-Mamdani hospital medics.

One person was killed when a warplane bombed a house in Beit Lahia, paramedics said.

Heavy fighting, artillery shelling and helicopter fire were reported Thursday around northern Gaza's Shujayia market, as well as approaching Israeli ground vehicles.

Hamas' press office in Gaza reported "a significant displacement of residents" there and said people "are fleeing to areas of refuge in Gaza City that are already overcrowded".

An anonymous witness told AFP the situation was "very difficult and frightening in Shujayia after the arrival of occupation (Israeli) vehicles and air fire.

"Residents are running through the streets in terror... a number of wounded and martyrs lie in the streets."

Shelling also targeted Gaza City, sending plumes of smoke into the sky, and Israeli forces blew up several buildings in far-southern Rafah, witnesses said.

The Israeli military also said it had "attacked terrorists who were in a school complex in Khan Yunis" in the south, where the civil defence agency said it had recovered several bodies.

US officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken have voiced hope a Gaza ceasefire could also lead to a reduction in hostilities on the Lebanese border.

However, months of talks towards a truce and hostage release deal have so far failed as Israel has rejected Hamas demands for a permanent end to fighting and full troop withdrawal.

- 'Beyond anything I've seen' -

The war started with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized about 250 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza although the army says 42 are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,765 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

The war and siege have triggered a dire humanitarian crisis, with Gaza hospitals struggling to function, and food, drinking water and other essentials hard to come by.

USAID officials said Wednesday that just 1,000 of the 7,000 tonnes of aid shipped from Cyprus to Gaza had been distributed, blaming looting and security problems.

Gaza's humanitarian crisis is intense, said US doctors and nurses returning from the territory, who reported patients in the few remaining hospitals were dying in large numbers.

One of the volunteer medics, former US army combat surgeon Adam Hamawy, said he had worked in many war-torn and natural disaster-hit countries in the past 30 years.

"But the level of civilian casualties that I experienced was beyond anything I'd seen before," the 54-year-old told AFP.

"Most of our patients were children under the age of 14," he said. "This has nothing to do with your political views."

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Some visitors to Israel have a new stop on their tours: Hamas’ destruction in the south

For people visiting Israel, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. This is a new kind of tourism that has emerged in the country in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. (AP Video: Ami Bentov)

A group of Israelis on an educational tour visit the home of the Siman Tov family on Friday, June 21, 2024. The parents and three children were killed and their home was torched by Hamas militants on the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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A group of Israelis visit a damaged house following the Oct. 7 Hamas militants attack on Israel in Kibbutz Beeri, southern Israel, on Friday, Jan. 28, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Israeli soldiers watch a virtual tour of the destruction of the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel near the site of the Tribe of Nova music festival, where at least 364 people were killed and abducted near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel, Thursday, May 30, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

An Israeli reservist poses for a picture with a tourist from Mexico, who is holding the soldier’s M16 rifle, at the site of the Tribe of Nova music festival, where at least 364 people were killed and abducted during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, near Kibbutz Re’im, southern Israel on Thursday, June 20, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A group of Israelis on an educational tour visit a house that was torched by Hamas militants on the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Friday, June 21, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

People look at the Gaza Strip through binoculars from an observation point in the town of Sderot, southern Israel, on Thursday, June 20, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

FILE - Danny Danon, a member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, left, and Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, visit a home torched by Hamas in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, Monday, May 27, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

A woman stands next to photos of people killed and taken captive by Hamas militants during their violent rampage through the Nova music festival in southern Israel, which are displayed at the site of the event to commemorate the Oct. 7, massacre near Kibbutz Re’im on Thursday, June 20, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli soldiers look at pictures of revelers killed on Oct. 7, 2023 at the Nova music festival by Hamas militants during a cross-border attack, as they visit the site in Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza border, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A woman stands next to a shelter at the site of the Tribe of Nova music festival, where at least 364 people were killed and abducted during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, near Kibbutz Re’im on Thursday, June 20, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A group of Israelis on an educational tour visit the dining hall that was damaged during the Oct. 7, Hamas attack on Israel in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Friday, June 21, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

People look at the Gaza Strip from an observation point in the town of Sderot, southern Israel, on Thursday, June 20, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews from central Israel visit a bomb shelter where Israelis were killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas militants attack on Israel, near Kibbutz Beeri, southern Israel, on Friday, June 21, 2024. A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (AP) — A new kind of tourism has emerged in Israel in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. For celebrities, politicians, influencers and others, no trip is complete without a somber visit to the devastated south that absorbed the brunt of the assault near the border with Gaza .

Jerry Seinfeld, Elon Musk , Michael Douglas, former presidential candidate Nikki Haley , and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are a few who have visited, at times posing for photos in front of burned-out homes. Many Israelis, including soldiers and security officials, are also visiting on organized trips.

“It’s our personal story, but it’s also the story of all of the state of Israel,” said Irit Lahav, spokeswoman for Kibbutz Nir Oz, who gives many of the tours.

A quarter of the approximately 400 Nir Oz residents fell victim to the attack. Hamas militants killed more than 20 and kidnapped over 80. In the dining hall, a wall of post office boxes is plastered with stickers — red for killed, black for kidnapped, blue for released.

While it’s uncomfortable to open the community to visitors, she said it’s important for people to “come here and smell the burned smell of death, to imagine your friends or parents here.”

Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people as they rampaged through southern Israel, and kidnapped around 250. Health officials in Hamas-run Gaza say more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war that followed.

Prior to Oct. 7, Lahav ran a tourism company. Now she has turned those itinerary-building skills to the kibbutz where she grew up. Her tour includes the spot in the fence where Hamas militants stormed the kibbutz, along with small details that humanize the scale of destruction, like the candy eggs that melted when the general store was torched.

Many of the kibbutzim and towns that experienced the worst destruction are closed to the public, accessible only via organized tours like those for dignitaries or celebrities, or by invitation from a resident.

A group of Israelis on an educational tour visit a house that was torched by Hamas militants on the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Nir Oz decided that the guides must be residents. Rena Bazar, who lives with most of the community in temporary housing elsewhere, is among those giving tours.

At first, it was difficult to return to Nir Oz. She didn’t like the idea of strangers on the lawns and in the dining hall with its bullet-riddled windows. But eventually, she understood the importance of helping visitors understand not just what happened, but also what life had been like before Oct. 7.

“I want to make it less about the combat and more about the personal stories of people who were there,” Bazar said.

For visiting dignitaries and VIPs, trips to Israel have long included stops at famous religious or cultural sites, such as the Western Wall, Masada, the Sea of Galilee or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the national Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem. The visits to the battered kibbutzim and border towns are the latest way to build support and solidarity with Israel’s allies abroad.

Other parts of southern Israel are open to the public and encouraging visitors — both foreigners and Israelis from elsewhere.

People look at the Gaza Strip through binoculars from an observation point in the town of Sderot, southern Israel, on Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The city of Sderot runs “resilience tours,” connecting groups with survivors who share their memories of Oct. 7 or highlight cultural or culinary offerings. In contrast to the hardest-hit kibbutzim like Nir Oz, most of Sderot’s residents have returned.

Hen Cohen, the city’s tourism director, estimated that about 200,000 visitors have come during the first half of 2024, compared with 100,000 total in a normal year. Most come via solidarity missions from abroad or are local visitors such as soldiers and police officers on educational tours.

Birthright Israel, an organization that provides 10-day free trips to Israel for Jewish Americans, said that nearly all of the 13,500 participants expected this summer will visit Sderot and the site of the Nova music festival, where at least 364 people died. These visits provide an economic and morale boost to residents, Cohen said.

The Sderot police station, where 10 officers were killed on Oct. 7 in a standoff that left the station in ruins, is a main attraction. Visitors stop at the local museum, and watch security footage of what happened on Oct. 7, then walk to the empty lot where the police station stood. Twisted metal remains. Israeli flags flutter in the wind. A sign says a memorial will be built there.

People look at the Gaza Strip from an observation point in the town of Sderot, southern Israel, on Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

“In this dark hour, I wanted to do my part to make sure the people of Israel know that the people of the United States are with you,” former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said while visiting the site. Seinfeld later cried while talking about his own visit to a kibbutz, describing it as “the most powerful experience” of his life.

Zehava Ben Zaken, a lifelong Sderot resident, said it has taken time to adjust to seeing visitors every time she walks by. “I’m happy they come to see this place, so they can understand and stand with us,” she said.

Hearing the booms from Gaza a few kilometers (miles) away, she hoped that visitors can finally understand Sderot’s precarious security situation. “We’re totally broken,” she said.

South of Sderot, the site of the Nova music festival has become a pilgrimage site for hundreds of visitors per day. Photos of victims are arranged around what had been the main stage. Loved ones have left candles, sculptures, photos and other mementos.

Israeli soldiers look at pictures of revelers killed on Oct. 7, 2023 at the Nova music festival by Hamas militants during a cross-border attack, as they visit the site in Re’im, southern Israel near the Gaza border, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Standing there helped her understand the enormity of loss of life, said Naomi Hanan, a medical student from San Francisco. “It’s right in front of your face and there’s no denying or ignoring what you’ve been hearing or seeing through the media,” she said.

In a eucalyptus grove near the site, an organization called Triumph of the Spirit offers virtual reality tours of three kibbutzim, including Nir Oz. The tours are currently only open to soldiers on official educational visits, but an English version will be available in the coming weeks for international tourists.

“I feel like I’m in Fortnite!” one soldier said as he slipped on the headset, then went silent as images of destruction appeared.

The videos were created by Miriam Cohen and Chani Kopolovich, who had created such tours of Auschwitz for a Holocaust education experience for people who don’t travel to Poland.

“We’ve made it accessible to go on this tour without damaging peoples’ privacy,” said Pinchas Tosig, who runs the tent and has 300 to 700 soldiers visit per day.

Some residents of southern Israel are looking beyond the visitors to the future.

In the coming weeks, Nir Oz will start demolishing some buildings to make way for new construction. Residents wonder how to preserve what happened while making space for new lives. Some say part of the destruction should remain. Others don’t want reminders — or visitors.

On one tour, Bazar pointed out the safe room where she spent hours hiding on Oct. 7. Her home was mostly spared. Others were burned. She doesn’t want the destruction to remain inside Nir Oz and hopes any future memorial will be elsewhere.

“I don’t want any child to be impacted by the ruins,” she said. “Our cemetery is full. Isn’t that memorial enough?”

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Israel and Lebanon escalate rhetoric as US tries to prevent war

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Kenyan police face off against protesters day after president's tax climbdown

Kenyan police fired teargas at dozens of protesters and blocked off streets leading to the presidential palace on Thursday as small demonstrations continued in several cities, even after the president bowed to pressure to withdraw a tax hike bill.

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America’s Top Doctor on Why He Wants Warning Labels on Social Media

The surgeon general says parents should be aware that using the platforms might harm adolescents’ mental health..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise and this is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

A rising tide of mental health problems among teens has sent parents, teachers, and doctors searching for answers. This week, the nation’s top doctor offered one. Today, I talk with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about his plan to take on what he sees as a central threat facing American teens, social media.

It’s Friday, June 21.

Dr. Murthy, nice to see you.

Hey, Sabrina, it’s good to see you, too. You can call me Vivek, by the way. I’m very informal.

Vivek, OK, well, being the nation’s top doctor, I’m inclined to call you doctor, but we can go with Vivek.

Yeah, I’ll tell you, Sabrina. I still think of Dr. Murthy as my dad, so.

Aha, interesting. So you are the country’s surgeon general, and we’re talking to you today because earlier this week, you made a pretty big announcement about the dangers of social media for young people. And you suggested a potential fix for it.

You actually announced this move by writing an op-ed in “The New York Times.” But before we get to that fix that you’re proposing, let’s talk about the problem. When did you start thinking of this as an issue that you should be focused on?

Well, I first started seeing the roots of the youth mental health crisis during my first term as surgeon general. This was during 2014 to ‘17. I was traveling the country listening to communities in big cities and small towns, and I was hearing often about these struggles that young people were having with loneliness and isolation, with depression and anxiety. Over the course of two terms, I have seen this ratchet up with the pandemic pouring fuel on a fire, but a fire that was already burning before the pandemic arrived.

And what specifically were you hearing? I mean, was there a patient you saw or was it something that happened to a friend or your own family that made this problem especially real for you?

Well, actually, there have been a series of things that made it real. One is my own experience personally. As a young person, I struggled a lot with my mental health, with feeling alone and isolated. I was very shy and introverted as a child. And at that time, I thought I was the only one who was struggling. It was only years later, Sabrina, that I actually realized a lot of my classmates were struggling too.

But then I think about the conversations I had as surgeon general, and I heard some stories I expected but many I did not. I remember stopping at a college, and one young woman said to me, I feel like I’m on this campus surrounded by thousands of other students, but nobody really knows me. And I feel like I can’t be myself, and I feel all alone.

I think about the moms and dads who have come to visit me, who have talked about how social media is impacting the mental health of their kids. The one mother whose son was also shy and introverted and struggled a lot with his mental health, was being bullied and was having a really difficult time. And then the algorithm on his social media platform started suggesting to him that he take his own life and started directing him as to how to do that. And he ultimately followed his directions and took his own life.

I heard just countless stories like this of young people who are struggling, parents who are struggling, as well. And those are stuck with me. And those go along with the many statistics we now have that demonstrate that we are indeed living in a profound mental health crisis.

OK, so you’re noticing this problem or this looming problem, and you’re hearing these really tragic stories. How did you go from that kind of anecdotal information gathering to actually studying this issue more closely, to inspect this as a potential health hazard?

Well, once I started hearing those stories and hearing them at such volume and consistency, they’re what really compelled me to dig more deeply into the data and to try to understand what is driving this deeper mental health crisis? It turns out it’s not just one thing. Loneliness and isolation are contributing. The experiences of violence and the fear of violence, particularly gun violence, are contributing to the daily stress and strain that so many families are going through right now. But it turns out, again and again, the issue of social media kept coming up.

So when I decided I needed to dig into this more deeply, I began, essentially, a research project with my team to understand more deeply what is the data telling us about social media and youth mental health? And the data tells us that there is, in fact an association between social media use among young people and the mental health harms that they are experiencing.

The second thing, though, that we know, and this is very important, is we know a lot based on what young people are telling us themselves. 6 out of 10 adolescent girls talk about being approached by strangers on social media in ways that make them feel uncomfortable. A third of young people say they’re staying up till past midnight on their devices. A lot of that is social media use. But nearly half of adolescents are also telling us, on these studies, that using social media makes them feel worse about their body image.

And I want to just caveat this by saying there are still open questions. We want to know more about which populations are most deeply impacted by social media, both positively and negatively.

We want to know what types of use of social media seem to contribute to the most harm and the most benefit. These are really important questions to address, and we should be investing more research in understanding them.

I want to return to something that you said, which is that there’s an association between social media use and mental health problems among young people. So this is a point of dispute within the scientific community, right? There are some studies that show that these two things are associated, in other words, that there’s some relationship there, but there really isn’t much evidence that one actually causes the other, that social media is the reason for the rise in mental health problems.

One of my colleagues, this week, talked to the chief science officer at the American Psychological Association, and she was asking about whether the time a child spent on social media contributed to poor mental health? And he said, and I quote, “the results have been really mixed with probably the consensus being that, no, it’s not related.” What is your response to that?

Well, I think — look, it’s important to look at the research question broadly. What we’re trying to understand, first and foremost, is the answer to the question parents are asking us, which is, is social media safe for my kids? And if you ask researchers, what is the data, tell us about safety, where is the data that tells us these platforms are safe? That data is not there.

So there’s not evidence of safety. There is growing evidence of harm. There is data showing an association between social media use and youth mental health harm. Now, where there are debates and discussions, in the research community, is how big is that association? Is it bigger for boys versus girls? And it seems like it is bigger for girls. Does it differ based on your socioeconomic status, based on other indicators? And those are important questions to debate.

But one of the things that you learn in medicine and in public health, when you’re faced with the real-world problems, is that you have to assess when you have enough information to act, recognizing that you want to continue to get clarity that will continue to hone your approach as time goes on.

To give you an example from a clinical circumstance, if I have a patient in front of me whose blood pressure is dropping rapidly and who is in danger of losing their life, I have to rapidly assess what are the potential causes of that. There could be many different reasons. I’ve got to quickly assess it, and I’ve got to move forward with treating it. And I keep gathering data along the way.

But the risk of inaction, of saying, hold on, let me not take action here, until every question I have is answered, the risk of that is the patient’s life. And that is literally what we are seeing taking place right now. It’s not to say that there aren’t kids who are having some benefits, but the measure of whether we should take action or not is not are some kids getting benefits from social media or not? That is not the threshold.

I lay out in my advisory last year, that there are certain benefits, but getting some benefits does not justify forcing kids to endure significant harms. We can make social media safer. We should so that kids can get the benefits without having to sustain the harms.

So I want to talk more about the warning advisory that you issued last year. As you said, the moment when you first started to act on this. Basically, your thinking was that there were these findings on social media and mental health. They seemed to be related. You were raising the alarm, and you called on parents, on tech companies, and on lawmakers to do more to protect young people. Why did you take that approach?

Well, because I think to address the harms of social media does, in fact, require all of us to ask the question, what can we do to protect our kids? And we all do have a role and responsibility here. But I do think up until now, the vast majority of the burden of managing the harms of social media has been placed almost entirely on the shoulders of parents and kids alone.

Now, think about this for a moment. Because the platforms themselves are designed by some of the best product engineers in the world, supported and resourced by some of the wealthiest companies in the world, and informed by cutting-edge brain science, ultimately to maximize how much time our kids are spending on the platforms. And to tell a parent, who didn’t grow up with these platforms, that they should somehow manage these rapidly evolving tools and keep their kids safe when they don’t even understand the full extent of harms here, that is both unreasonable and unfair. And that is why in the advisory I issued, I called on a number of other players to step up.

And what did you hope would happen after you issued your report last year?

Well, my hope was that a few things would happen. Number one, that policymakers would respond and would come together to start putting in place the kind of safety standards and data transparency requirements and privacy protections that we need. My hope also was that parents and young people would feel seen, would recognize that they’re not alone in their struggles. And finally, I wanted platforms to know that they also have a role here that they still have an opportunity to fulfill.

Social media has been around for nearly two decades. There’s been plenty of time for platforms to make the experience of young people safe, sufficiently safe. It’s one thing to say we’re implementing safety measures. It’s another thing to actually provide evidence that those measures are working to keep our kids safe.

So now we come to this week when you decide to put forward your suggested fix to the problem, and that is a warning label.

Which is something we’re used to seeing on cigarette packages, Surgeon General’s Warning. How exactly would a warning work in practice? I mean, which social media platforms are we talking about, and what would it look like in your ideal scenario?

So a warning label would be a digital warning. It would pop up at a regular basis when individuals used social media. There are important details of what that warning label looks like, what kind of font size it is, what are the literal wording of the warning label, does it have graphics associated with it, what part of your screen does it appear on? Those questions are typically answered in a scientific process that takes place after Congress authorizes a label.

Lastly, it’s important for people to know that there is data about warning labels and their effectiveness. We have now decades of experience with tobacco and alcohol warning labels. And what they tell us, particularly from tobacco, is that these labels, when done right, can be effective in increasing awareness and changing behavior.

But what gave you the idea to propose this? Is it a reflection of any frustration that not enough has been done after you issued your report last year?

Well, it’s a reflection more of the fact that we all have to look at every tool we have in our toolbox and use them to help address the harms that we may be seeing here with social media. And in our case, a surgeon general’s warning is one of those tools.

I want to be very clear that a warning label, in my mind, is not the entire fix to the harms that social media poses to our kids. I still firmly believe what I stated last year in my advisory and what I called for this week in the op-ed, which is Congress ultimately needs to make social media safer. And the way to do that is by putting in place measures that protect kids from harmful content and from manipulative features that lead them to excessive use. That is what Congress has to do. Alongside that, a warning would help parents and kids understand the risks that we see.

But let me separately say that if you’re asking, am I frustrated or concerned that there hasn’t been enough action? Absolutely yes. Look, I think all of us should be deeply concerned about how long it has taken for us to ultimately take action to make social media safer. We’ve got to do better. And that starts, ultimately, with the platforms as well as with Congress stepping up to take action.

We’ll be right back.

I wanted to ask you, Dr. Murthy, about the benefits, actually, because we’re talking that this is a complicated problem, but that there are benefits, of course. You know, social media can be particularly helpful for marginalized kids, people maybe who don’t have access to a supportive group of people around them, that it is meaningfully good in their lives. So how do you think about putting a warning label, kind of, just in a blanket way on all social media platforms in that respect?

So, I think about a warning label is providing people with information about their risk of harms. Now, risk of harm doesn’t mean that every single person is harmed. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t benefits, as well. That’s true with tobacco. It’s true with alcohol. And we have warning labels on both of those products.

But what it does mean is that there are significant risks that people should be aware of. And when it comes to special populations and groups of people and individuals who are helped by social media, we also have to look at the full picture there. Think about LGBTQ youth for a moment.

We do know, that in some cases, social media can be a way for LGBTQ youth to find community, to find support that, in some cases, they may not have in person, right? That can be positive. But what is less mentioned, is the fact that LGBTQ youth are much more likely to be bullied and harassed on social media compared to straight youth.

So how do we put that together? How do we balance those? The bottom line is, that we can’t assume, as I worry we have been doing in some of the debate around this, that because there are some benefits, that justifies all the harms, that it means we shouldn’t talk about the harms.

People have compared this moment in social media to moments in America when new media arrived on the scene and created a kind of social panic or say, new things arrived on the scene and created a kind of social panic TV, video games. That these things would be dangerous for kids. That these things would be bad for kids growing up and for their brains and all of that. What do you say to that criticism that maybe right now we’re just in the midst of another moral panic about this because we don’t quite understand it yet? What do you say to that?

Well, I think it’s an important question to consider. We want to make sure our responses are appropriate to the gravity of the situation. But in the case of social media, there’s something here that is fundamentally different from some of the other technologies that have cropped up and created temporary moral panics, whether that was TV, radio, even going way back, the printing press and books.

What’s different here, is that social media has fundamentally transformed childhood in a way that these previous technologies did not. When TV came onto the scene, I wasn’t bringing my TV into my bed and watching it throughout the night. I wasn’t able to be contacted by strangers through the TV in ways that would lead to bullying and exploitation. I didn’t have my personal data stolen because I was watching TV in ways that also could lead to exploitation and abuse.

All of these things are very unique to social media and the pervasiveness of it, the fact that young people can now carry it in their pockets and have 24/7 access to it, that has fundamentally changed the game. And this point is just important to underscore. Adolescents are not little adults. They are fundamentally in a very different stage of brain development.

And in that stage of brain development, their impulse control hasn’t developed as much. They are more susceptible to social comparison and social suggestion. So the things that, even to us adults, might seem as just willpower questions, you might just say it’s a balance. Just draw a few boundaries around your use of social media, no problem. One would argue it’s quite hard for adults to do that, by the way, but especially for young people, this is exceedingly hard.

And Sabrina, I got to say that, for me, and I know for many others, this is very personal. I’m a father of two young kids who’s watching them grow up you faster than I would like every day and who’s seeing the world coming at them rapidly. And I know I’m not alone as a parent.

And I think about the day when they come up to me and ask me if they can have a social media account. I think about what’s going to happen when their friends are bullied and harassed online. How are they going to respond? Are their friends going to feel comfortable talking to them about it? These are the questions that all of us have to grapple with as parents.

How old are your children?

My kids are six and seven now, and even though they’re young, I will say that a couple of years ago, when my daughter was in preschool, she came home one day and asked us about posting a picture on social media.

That’s how early it’s coming at us.

And what did you say to her?

We said no, and she went on her way, and she was fine. But this is going to happen more and more. It’s happening earlier and earlier to kids. And parents are out there trying to manage this all on their own. There’s no manual for how to manage social media for your kids. There’s no set of ideal practices for how to tailor your kid’s needs to the evolving nature of social media.

That’s actually why I believe that parents need to also come together and support one another around taking a set of shared rules so that not only is it easier for us, but it’s easier for our kids. When we tell our kid, for example, as my wife and I are planning to do for our kids, that we are not going to consider them being on social media until at least after middle school, it will be helpful to us if there are other parents in our friend community and our school community who are doing the same because then we can say, no, you’re not the only one, but Bobby and Mary and Jack are also waiting until after middle school.

And are there other parents who want to do the same to wait until after middle school? Or are you guys outliers?

Well, so this is what has been fascinating, obviously, even in our own school community. In the last few weeks alone, there has been more conversation in our school about how to manage technology for our kids. And there are many more parents than I had even realized, in our school, who want to wait until later. But the reason many don’t is because they want to assume that everyone is just doing this. They don’t want their kid to be left out. So this is a collective action problem.

But many of them are also unsure how to manage some of those harms or may not even be sure what the harms are. And there’s a lot of pressure too. The number of parents I talked to who say, my child came up to me and said, if you don’t let me open up an account on social media, I’ll be the only one —

— in my class. I’ll be left out. Do you want me to be more lonely? And if you’re a parent facing that, of course you don’t want your child to be lonely. So I really feel for parents because our kids shouldn’t be alone in this, and we shouldn’t be alone either, as parents, in managing social media.

So as the daughter of parents who decided that their child should not have a television, I can identify with those kids who say, I feel more lonely.

You’re not part of the conversation. You can’t participate in the games because you don’t hear, and you don’t see, and it is difficult. It’s the hardest thing for a parent, right? Are you worried that could happen to you that your kids — you would somehow kind of deepen the loneliness? I mean, you yourself were a lonely child growing up, you said. How do you think about this?

Well, this is why I think it’s so important for us to build this broader movement together, to reengineer the relationship that our kids have with technology. Because imagine if we delay the age at which kids start using social media. Imagine even after they use social media, if we build tech free zones in their lives, in their days to protect sleep, in-person interaction, physical activity, and learning. Think about what we would do and could do with that time.

I think about the school in Indiana that I went to, which had put in place restrictions around the use of social media and phones during class time. And they said that what they noticed was kids started playing games together in the library, and in the hallway, they were talking more. The volume in the hallways went up. And this has been one of the most striking things to me about the college tours that I’ve done. I remember college as a time where the most noisy place on campus was the dining hall.

Because everyone was coming together to talk about what they did. It was just you could barely hear yourself think.

These days, when I go to college campuses, and particularly the dining halls, it’s quiet because people are on their devices, they’re listening to music on their iPod, they’re on their laptops. And one of the most chilling questions that I got on the college tour, again and again, from kids, was how were we supposed to build connection with one another when the culture isn’t for people to talk to each other anymore? Just think about that for a minute.

They’re saying the culture is not for people to talk to each other anymore. We have to rebuild the spaces where people can talk to each other, where our kids can talk to each other, where they can discover things together, where they can agree and disagree together, but where they can do that in a way that helps them build healthy relationships, negotiate disagreement, and build friendships.

So let’s say that Congress goes along with this, and warning labels start to appear on social media online. We’re now almost 20 years since the advent of the smartphone. 2007 was the first iPhone. I remember getting one. Entire generations have formed their habits around these devices.

And as we’ve discussed, there have been some real benefits, but also there are some steep societal costs.

Someone, I read somewhere, put it that our kids are now this giant human, real-time, real-life laboratory of what all of this is going to mean. So is a label actually going to unwind that? Is it too late to unwind this?

I don’t think it’s too late. I think about smoking in our country. In 1964, when the first Surgeon General’s Report on Tobacco was issued. At that time, 42 percent of Americans smoked. There were advertisements everywhere for smoking that kids could see. It was just seen as part of the culture.

And there were people, at that time, who said, the notion that you’re going to get people to stop smoking just seems unrealistic. But the combination of not just a report but all of the action that that report helped to promote and unleash community education programs, advocacy from parents, legislation from Congress and from state and local legislatures. Together, over the years, that helped us take us from 42 percent to below 12 percent. That helped us save countless lives.

So is it going to be easy to change and re-engineer our relationship to social media and to make social media safer? No, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be complicated. But I firmly believe that, as a nation, America can do hard things. We’ve done hard things before. And what better time than on this issue when what’s at stake is the mental health and well-being of our kids?

Do your kids know what your job is?

[LAUGHS]: My kids now know that I’m the surgeon general, but I don’t know that they know what that means. They know that I wear a uniform. And they know that I do a lot of interviews and talks, but I’m not sure that they entirely know what my day job is. They just know it has to do with health.

In my house, when you ask who’s a doctor in the house —

— my kids point to my wife. And we often have to remind them that, hey, daddy’s a doctor, too. So [LAUGHS]: it’s one of the humbling things about being a parent, and I love it.

Do they know anything about what you did this week?

They know that I was doing a lot of media because they saw me on TV here and there when they were walking past their grandparents’ television. But they don’t really know, otherwise. They don’t really know what — really, what social media is, at this point. But that is going to change any day now. It’s coming.

Do you think that, potentially, what you’re doing now means that they will be more protected?

I hope so, yeah. I mean, we do the work we do, as parents, I do the work I do, as a dad, not only because I want to serve, but because I want the world to be better for my kids.

And that’s what guides me here too.

I want my kids to grow up in a world where the technology and the tools that are in front of them help them and don’t harm them. I want them to grow up in a world where we are more connected with one another, where they can build friendships, and they can seek out other kids who may be struggling with loneliness and help them feel less alone and know that there’s somebody who’s got their back.

If I’ve learned one thing, in my life, it’s that we really do need each other. My wife and I, as much as we love our kids, we can’t make sure the whole world is safe for them by ourselves. We can’t make sure that they grow and encounter healthy levels of adversity just on our own. This is something we’ve got to do together as parents.

And so I do hope that the work that I do will have some small contribution to making the world better for them. But I also know that to fulfill that hope, it’s going to take all of us working hand in hand and keeping our North star clear, which is, ultimately, taking care of our kids. Because as a dad, I just don’t know what’s more important than that.

Dr. Murthy, thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much, Sabrina. I really appreciate the chance to talk with you about this. [MUSIC PLAYING]

You can hear more discussion of the surgeon general’s social media recommendation on this week’s episode of “Hard Fork.”

Here’s what else you should know today. On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld a tax on foreign income that helped finance the tax cuts that President Donald Trump imposed in 2017 in a case that many experts had cautioned could undercut the nation’s tax system. The vote was 7 to 2, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing the majority opinion. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and by the court’s three liberals. The ruling avoided what many feared could have been fiscal chaos by upholding, for now, the structure of the income tax system.

And Donald Sutherland, the actor who played a laid-back battlefield surgeon in the film “M*A*S*H” and a soulful father in the movie “Ordinary People,” died on Thursday, in Miami, at the age of 88. Sutherland was known for his wide range. He had the ability to both charm and unsettle, to reassure and repulse. Across six decades, starting in the early 1960s, he appeared in nearly 200 films and television shows. Some years, he was in as many as half a dozen movies.

A quick reminder to catch a new episode of “The Interview” right here tomorrow. This week, Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer about why she wants to meet one of the men convicted of plotting to kidnap her in 2020.

I’d like to understand what drove this group of people to undergo this exercise to try to kidnap me and kill me. I want to understand it. What is happening —

You think there’s something to understand?

Maybe. Maybe there’s not. But I’d like to see.

Today’s episode was produced by Lynsea Garrison, Rob Szypko, Alex Stern, and Rikki Novetsky. It was edited by Lexie Diao and Michael Benoist, contains original music by Dan Powell and Chelsea Daniel and was engineered by Alison Moxley. Special thanks to Ellen Barry. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you on Monday.

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• June 11, 2024   •   24:11 Biden’s Hard-Line Effort to Close the Border

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Warning: This episode contains mentions of bullying and suicide.

A rising tide of mental health problems among teenagers has sent parents, teachers and doctors searching for answers. This week, the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, offered one: social media.

Today, Dr. Murthy discusses his proposal to require platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to include warning labels, like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products.

On today’s episode

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy , the U.S. surgeon general.

Background reading

Dr. Murthy cannot unilaterally impose warnings on social media; the action requires approval by Congress .

Read a guest essay by Dr. Murthy: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms .

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We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

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An earlier version of this episode misstated one of Donald Sutherland’s most notable roles. He starred in the film M*A*S*H, not the television series that followed.

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