Israel optimistic US will ‘soon’ ease travel advisory, officials tell ToI

Jerusalem has been leaning on the Trump administration to ease the US travel advisory for Israel and is optimistic that it will be updated “soon,” officials from the respective countries tell The Times of Israel.

The travel advisory has been at level three — “reconsider travel” — since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and the ensuing war against Hamas in Gaza.

Israel has for months been seeking to have the advisory lowered to at least a level two — “exercise increased caution” — as it seeks to encourage tourism to the country, a US official and an Israeli official say.

The Biden administration held off on heeding the Israeli request, as the war in Gaza dragged on, the officials say.

With the entry of Donald Trump into the White House and a Gaza ceasefire currently in place, Jerusalem has intensified its efforts to get the travel advisory lowered.

Israel has managed to convince the US Embassy in Jerusalem to get behind the idea, and the mission has been recommending to the State Department back in Washington that the advisory be lowered, the US official says.

The Israeli official speculates that the Trump administration is waiting to see how efforts to maintain the Gaza ceasefire hold in the days and weeks ahead before making the decision, while adding that the hold-up may be more bureaucratic in nature.