Swiss foreign ministry warns of deterioration in Middle East
The Swiss foreign ministry is not ruling out the possibility of further deterioration in the security situation in the Middle East. Developments in the conflict between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have led to uncertainty, the ministry announced.
It was recommended that anyone wishing to leave the area should use the commercial means of transport available. Flight connections could be reduced rapidly if the situation deteriorates, the foreign ministry wrote on its website on Thursday.
The Swiss embassy in Tel Aviv will continue to provide its usual services, it added. However, if the situation deteriorates, the embassy will have limited options for providing emergency assistance.
More
Eyewitness in a Gaza hospital and defending human rights defenders
No tourist travel
Tourist and other non-urgent travel to Israel is still not recommended, the ministry wrote. It cited an increased risk in certain parts of the country such as the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the border areas with Lebanon and Egypt. It also pointed out a general risk of violence throughout the country, such as bombings or individual attacks with vehicles or weapons.
The Gaza war was triggered by the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In response to the attack and the abduction of hostages, Israel has attacked targets in the Gaza Strip from land, sea and air. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 33,000 people have been killed and more than 75,000 others injured.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.