France is preparing to evacuate its citizens from Israel and Iran through neighboring countries amid ongoing regional escalation, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Thursday.
Barrot told reporters that a convoy will be arranged by the end of the week to get French nationals without their own means of doing so to the Turkish or Armenian borders from Iran to access airports in those countries.
Meanwhile, French citizens in Israel will be able to board buses starting Friday morning from the Jordanian and Egyptian borders, with routes leading to Queen Alia Airport in Amman and Sharm El-Sheikh in South Sinai.
Barrot said diplomacy remains key to resolving tensions with Iran. “We are ready to participate in negotiations that ensure Iran backs down from its nuclear program and ballistic missile development,” he said.
Several countries are looking to Egypt as a key transit point for evacuation operations. China, for example, has evacuated over 1,600 of its citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel, according to a statement by a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday.
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that evacuation efforts are ongoing, noting that China remains in contact with Iran, Israel, Egypt, and Oman. He also urged all parties to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation.
In a statement released Thursday, June 19, the US Embassy in Jerusalem directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place until further notice.
It added that the Department of State is planning for contingencies to assist with private U.S. citizens’ departure from Israel and that it would alert the U.S. citizen community if there is additional information to share regarding departure options.
Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport and all seaports remain closed, grounding commercial and charter flights. Foreign embassies, including those of France and China, have advised citizens to use land routes to Egypt and Jordan, where flights are still operational.
The evacuations follow Israel’s surprise attack on Iran last Friday, which aimed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The strike killed top Iranian military leaders, including the chief of staff and head of the Revolutionary Guard, as well as several nuclear scientists. Iran responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel.
The impact has spilled into Egypt. Two sources in the tourism sector told Al Manassa that a “mass exodus from Israel” has created a surge in hotel occupancy in Nuweiba and Taba, with guests staying only two days before transiting to other countries.
Earlier this week, Israel’s transport minister Miri Regev announced that Israelis would be barred from leaving the country, except for foreign nationals returning to their countries, including tourists, business travelers, and diplomats. She described the decision as temporary.
