The U.S. State Department has initiated the evacuation of nonessential diplomats and their families from the American embassy in Israel as hostilities between Israel and Iran escalate. President Donald Trump has also warned of the potential for direct U.S. involvement in the conflict.
A government plane carried out an evacuation Wednesday, transporting several diplomats and their families who requested to leave, according to two U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. Shortly afterward, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the embassy was organizing evacuation flights and ships for American citizens.
The State Department confirmed that, “given the ongoing situation and as part of the embassy’s authorized departure status, mission personnel have begun departing Israel through a variety of means.” The “authorized departure” designation allows nonessential staff and their families to leave at government expense.
It remains unclear how many diplomats and family members have already left or how many are planning to depart by land routes through Jordan or Egypt.
The evacuations, combined with White House statements and the repositioning of U.S. military aircraft and warships in the Middle East, have increased fears that the U.S. could deepen its involvement in a conflict that risks expanding into a wider regional war.
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