US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told US Embassy staff who wish to leave to “do so TODAY,” the New York Times reported on Friday.
Huckabee informed staff in an email that was sent out at 12:04 a.m., urging them to book a flight anywhere they could.
There move “will likely result in high demand for airline seats today,” he wrote. “Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to DC, but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of country.”
He also stated that he would be hosting a town-hall meeting at 12:30 p.m. to provide additional information.
The United States has authorized the departure of non-essential government workers and their families from Israel, a State Department handout announced on Friday.
The State Department also advised US citizens against traveling to Israel.
The handout suggests that US citizens should “consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available.”
Several countries have called for their citizens to leave or not travel to the Middle East in recent days, as tensions between Iran and the US continue to rise.
Canada issued a warning urging all citizens to leave Iran on Friday, cautioning that commercial flight options may be limited.
The Australian government told dependents of Australian diplomats in Israel and Lebanon to leave the two countries, citing a deteriorating security situation in the region. It also offered voluntary departures to Australian diplomats’ dependents in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar.
Other countries cautioning their citizens to avoid or leave the area in the last few months include Finland, Serbia, Poland, Sweden, India, Cyprus, Singapore, Germany, and Brazil.
Reuters contributed to this report.