The UK and EU governments have already warned against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Israel is continuing to bombard Gaza – home to more than 2 million inhabitants – after militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack last weekend.
Over 1,400 people in Israel were killed in the Islamic group’s assault. Nearly 2,700 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombardment.
The UK and EU governments have already warned against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
But travellers should also exercise caution when visiting some areas of neighbouring or nearby countries. Here’s what you need to know if you’ve booked a trip to Egypt, Jordan or Türkiye.
Is it safe to travel to Egypt?
Although Egypt shares a border with Gaza and Israel, the country has not yet been drawn into the conflict.
The Rafah border crossing may be opened to let Palestinians in Gaza escape to safety, but it is currently closed.
In terms of international travel, Egypt’s borders remain open and airlines and package holiday operators are continuing as normal in the country.
Flights to Egypt do not pass through Israeli airspace and have not been affected by the conflict so far.
Most of Egypt’s major cities and key tourist sites are located far away from the border with Israel and Gaza.
Beach resort Sharm el-Sheikh is the nearest, but it is still over two-and-a-half hours’ drive away from the closest border town and more than five hours away from the Gaza border.
Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada and Luxor are located even further away.
The UK’s Foreign Office (FCDO) has not issued an “avoid all non-essential travel” advisory for Egypt as it has done for Israel.
As such, if you cancel your trip to Egypt you may not be eligible for a refund or be able to claim money back from travel insurance.
The FCDO does, however, urge tourists to remain vigilant and exercise caution at tourist and religious sites, as well as public gatherings, in Alexandria where two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian tour guide were shot and killed by an Egyptian police officer.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) strongly advises against travel to the Governorate of North Sinai, which borders Israel and Gaza, including the Taba-Suez Road. It also warns against travel to Gaza via the Rafah border crossing.
The DFA advises arriving by air if travelling to Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and immediate surrounds and Marsa Alam and immediate surrounds, and tourist areas in the Nile river (such as Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel).
Is it safe to travel to Jordan?
Jordan shares a border with Israel and the West Bank (one of the Occupied Palestinian Territories) as well as with Syria.
Last week, the FCDO updated its guidelines on travel to Jordan stating: “The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to within 3km of Jordan’s border with Syria.”
However, most tourist destinations in Jordan remain unaffected by the instability and flights to Amman and Aqaba airports continue to operate as normal.
If you have a package holiday booked and choose to cancel, you are unlikely to receive a refund unless the destination is in one of the FCDO’s ‘no-go’ areas.
The Jordan Tourism Board has released a statement emphasising that the country is a “safe and welcoming destination for tourists around the world.”
“Our commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all visitors remains unwavering,” the statement said.The UK and EU governments have warned against all but essential travel to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel continues to bomb Gaza – home to more than 2 million people – after the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack last weekend. More than 1,400 people in Israel were killed in the Islamist group’s attack.
Nearly 2,700 people in Gaza were killed in Israeli retaliatory bombings. The UK and EU governments have warned against all but essential travel to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. But travelers should also exercise caution when visiting some areas of nearby or neighboring countries. Here’s what you need to know if you’ve booked a trip to Egypt, Jordan or Türkiye. Is it safe to travel to Egypt? Although Egypt shares borders with Gaza and Israel, it has not yet been drawn into the conflict. The Rafah border crossing could have been opened to allow Palestinians in Gaza to flee to safety, but it is currently closed. Regarding international travel, Egypt’s borders remain open and airlines and package tour operators continue to operate normally within the country.
Flights to Egypt do not pass through Israeli airspace and have so far been unaffected by the conflict. Most of Egypt’s major cities and major tourist destinations are located far from the borders with Israel and Gaza. The resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is closest, but is still more than two and a half hours’ drive from the nearest border town and more than five hours’ drive from the Gaza border. Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada and Luxor are even further away. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has not issued the “avoid all non-essential travel” advice for Egypt as it has for Israel.
Therefore, if you cancel your trip to Egypt, you may not be able to get a refund or claim a refund from your travel insurance. However, FCDO urged tourists to be vigilant and cautious at tourist and religious sites, as well as during public gatherings in Alexandria, where two Israeli tourists and an Israeli tour guide Egypt was shot dead by Egyptian police. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) strongly advises against travel to North Sinai Province, which borders Israel and Gaza, including the Taba-Suez route.
It also warned against traveling to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. FDFA recommends arriving by plane if you are traveling to Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and surrounding areas, Marsa Alam and surrounding areas, as well as tourist areas on the Nile (such as Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel ). Is it safe to travel to Jordan? Jordan shares borders with Israel and the West Bank (one of the occupied Palestinian territories) as well as Syria. Last week, the FCDO updated its guidance on travel to Jordan, saying: “The FCDO advises against all but essential travel within 3km of Jordan’s border with Syria.” However, most tourist destinations in Jordan were not affected by the unrest and flights to Amman and Aqaba airports continued to operate normally.
If you have booked a package holiday and choose to cancel, you will be unlikely to receive a refund unless the destination is in one of the FCDO’s ‘no go’ zones. The Jordan Tourism Board released a statement emphasizing that the country is a “safe and welcoming destination for tourists from all over the world.” “Our commitment to ensuring the safety and health of all visitors remains unchanged,” the statement said.