Urgent warning issued against travelling to 16 countries after missile barrage on Israel

Passengers wait after Israel closed its airspace to all domestic and international flights for six hours (Picture: Getty)

Travel advice for top holiday destinations has changed amid warnings about ‘uncontrollable regional escalation’ in the Middle East.

Britain’s Foreign Office warned against travelling to parts of the region after Iran deployed at least 300 missiles and drones towards Israel overnight on Saturday.

Fears of a wider conflict have been rising since October 7 and Israel’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza, and strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.

RAF jets were used to shoot down the missiles, part of Iran’s retaliation to Israel’s incineration of a consulate building in Syria on April 1, in which some of Iran’s top commanders were killed.

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel ‘must be punished and it shall be’, but that the matter can be deemed ‘concluded’. It is yet unclear if Israel is planning to respond with power.

As a result of the rising tensions, the FCDO has updated advice for a number of countries.

People travelling to Oman, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Algeria, Bahrain are being urged to take extra care.

‘The Foreign Office said: ‘On April 13, 2024, Iran carried out military action against Israel.

‘Monitor this travel advice and other media as the situation is changing fast.

‘Follow and contact FCDO travel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can get email notifications when this travel advice is updated.’

It comes as foreign secretary Lord David Cameron said ‘it is right for Israel not to escalate’ after Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel.

‘Israel has every right to respond as an independent sovereign country being attacked in this way,’ he told Times Radio.

‘But I think we’re very anxious to avoid escalation and to say to our friends in Israel it’s a time to think with with head as well as heart.

‘And in many ways this is a double defeat for Iran. Not only was their attack an almost total failure, but also the rest of the world can now see what a malign influence they are in the region and understand their true nature.

‘And so I think it is right for Israel not to escalate, but obviously they’re a sovereign, independent country and they’ll make their own decisions.’

To help British passengers, Metro.co.uk has collated all the major warnings for the region by the FCDO.

Tunisia

The FCDO advises against all travel to

the Chaambi Mountains National Park and the designated military operations zones of Mount Salloum, Mount Sammamma and Mount Mghila

the militarised zone south of the towns of El Borma and Dhehiba

within 20km of the rest of the Libya border area north of Dhehiba

the town of Ben Guerdane and immediate surrounding area

In addition and for security reasons, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to:

within 75km of the Libyan border, including Remada, El Borma and the town of Zarzis

the governorate of Kasserine, including the town of Sbeitla

within 10km of the border with Algeria south of Kasserine governorate

within 30km of the border in El Kef and Jendouba governorates south of the town of Jendouba, including the archaeological site of Chemtou

areas north and west of the town of Ghardimaou in Jendouba governorate, including El Feidja National Park

within 10km of Mount Mghila

Mount Orbata

Lebanon

The FCDO advises against all travel to Lebanon. All British citizens currently in the country are encouraged to leave now while commercial options remain available.

It added: ‘The situation has potential to deteriorate quickly and with no warning.

‘Commercial routes out of Lebanon could be severely disrupted or cancelled at short notice and roads across the country could be closed.’

Saudi Arabia

The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Saudi Arabia. This includes all travel to within 10km of the border with Yemen and all but essential travel to areas between 10km and 80km from the border with Yemen.

All but essential travel to Abha International Airport in Asir province is advised against.

Jordan   

The FCDO advises against all travel to Jordan, within 3km of the border with Syria.

Egypt

The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Egypt.

Egypt-Libya border – within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border, except for the town of El Salloum (where we advise against all but essential travel).

North Sinai – against all travel to the Governorate of North Sinai.

Northern part of South Sinai – against all but essential travel to the northern part of the Governorate of South Sinai, beyond the St Catherine-Nuweibaa road, except for the coastal areas along the west and east of the peninsula.

The eastern part of Ismailiyah Governorate – against all but essential travel to the Ismailiyah Governorate east of the Suez Canal.

Western Desert – against all but essential travel to the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, except for:

Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings

the Governorate of Faiyum

the coastal areas between the Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh

the Marsa Matruh-Siwa Road

the oasis town of Siwa

the Giza Governorate north-east of the Bahariya Oasis

the road between Giza and Farafra (but we advise against all but essential travel on the road between Bahariya and Siwa)

Bahariya Oasis, Farafra, the White Desert and Black Desert

Hala’ib Triangle and Bir Tawil Trapezoid

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the Hala’ib Triangle and the Bir Tawil Trapezoid.

Algeria

The FCDO advises against all travel to areas within

30km of the borders with Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger

30km of the border with Tunisia in the provinces of Illizi and Ouargla and in the Chaambi mountains area

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