Asiye Latife Yılmaz
19 June 2025•Update: 19 June 2025
ISTANBUL
The US said Wednesday that it has no announcement on helping private citizens leave Israel, just before the US Embassy in Jerusalem said it is working on possible evacuation options amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
“Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel - US Embassy in Israel … is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures,” US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote on X late Wednesday.
He added that citizens should register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to get updates.
But nine hours earlier, the US Embassy in Jerusalem said on X that it had “no announcement” on helping private citizens leave, adding that the State Department “is always planning for contingencies to assist with private U.S. citizens’ departure from crisis areas.”
Following the State Department update, it remained unclear if or when evacuation flights or cruise ships would be available, as Ben Gurion Airport and all Israeli seaports remain closed.
Earlier, President Donald Trump told reporters that he had not yet made up his mind whether he would authorize the military to join Israel's ongoing campaign against Iran, saying: "I may do it. I may not do it."
Regional tensions have escalated since Friday, when Israel launched airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
In Iran, 585 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports.
