The Pentagon will temporarily suspend the flights it arranges to Israel for congressmen and top DOD officials due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to a recent memo issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The memo, released October 31, says trips made by the Pentagon’s senior leaders to the Jewish state are restricted for the time being, Punchbowl News first reported Friday. Any senior DOD official, depending on their position, must receive authorization from Austin or the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for such a request.
The Department of Defense generally supports overseas travel to foreign countries and conflict zones for members of Congress and its top officials.
“I further discourage visits to Israel requiring DOD support by members of Congress and their staffs,” Austin wrote in the memo. “I hereby instruct the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs to inform the appropriate congressional leadership that DOD support to congressional delegation visits will be unavailable to Israel during this period, and no DOD support shall be made available for congressional travel to Israel without my approval.”
Although congressmen and military personnel are barred from traveling to Israel amid its war with Hamas, flight accommodations will still be provided to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “These restrictions also do not apply to travel by the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretaries of the Military Departments, or Service Chiefs,” the memo reads.
The issued statement comes as Israeli forces are moving in on the Gaza Strip via ground operations and continued airstrikes to root out Hamas from the region. Israel responded to last month’s unprecedented terrorist attack after Hamas murdered about 1,400 Israeli citizens, including at least 31 Americans, and captured more than 200 hostages. Over 9,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-compromised Gaza Health Ministry. The organization does not distinguish between the deaths of civilians and terrorists.
Although the fighting has been chiefly limited to the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas militants for nearly a month, other countries and foreign terrorist organizations in the region could soon join the conflict and officially open a second front against Israel. Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli soldiers along the Lebanon-Israel border since the October 7 attack. Still, the leader of the Iranian-backed group does not appear keen on provoking a broader war.
“For those who say that Hezbollah should start a war in the entire region, I say wait. These are the beginnings,” Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Friday. “More actions will be taken against Israel from several different fronts, and this issue will become more obvious in the next few days.”
Nasrallah, however, threatened to exact revenge on the U.S. for its continued support of Israel and increased military presence in the Middle East. “Let me be clear, the United States is just as responsible,” he said. “Americans have to pay; they have to pay for Israel’s slaughter.”
Yemen’s Houthis, an Islamist political and armed organization backed by Iran, officially declared war against Israel on Tuesday, potentially paving the way for expanding hostilities in the region.