Australia – Australia called on its citizens to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories, and the United States warned its employees in Israel once morest traveling outside Tel Aviv and other cities, for fear of attacks in the region.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said in a travel note on Friday: “We urge Australians in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to leave if it is safe to do so,” noting “a significant risk of military responses and terrorist attacks.”
The Australian government had previously asked its citizens to “avoid traveling to the two regions if possible, and to leave if necessary.”
This most urgent warning came as Israel and Iran exchanged direct air attacks, dramatically escalating hostilities.
Australian diplomats said: “Military attacks might lead to airspace closures, flight cancellations and diversions, and other travel disruptions.”
The diplomats added: “Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv may temporarily suspend its operations due to increasing security concerns at any time, and within a short time.”
For its part, the US Embassy in Israel warned its employees, through a letter, “preventing its employees from traveling outside Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beersheba until further notice, out of caution in the wake of reports of Israel launching a retaliatory strike inside Iran,” according to what the letter stated.
Explosions rocked at dawn today near Isfahan Airport and the Hastam Shikari military air base in Iran, while an American official confirmed the start of the Israeli attack on Iran.
CNN said that many flights were diverted over Iranian airspace.
For its part, Iranian state television said that the nuclear sites in Isfahan province were not subjected to any damage, following air defense systems were activated in Isfahan to deal with suspected drones.
Source: AFP + RT
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2024-04-20 05:33:49
