Israel evacuates UAE mission staff amid threat from ‘terrorist organisations'
Israel's National Security Council issued a travel warning for Israelis in the Gulf country.
US President Donald Trump's envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel is evacuating most of its diplomatic mission staff in the United Arab Emirates, Israeli media reported late on Thursday, after Israel's National Security Council sharpened its travel warning for Israelis staying in the Gulf country.
The UAE's Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020, when the UAE became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a US-brokered agreement dubbed the Abraham Accords.
'We are emphasising this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organisations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel', the NSC said in a statement.
The NSC warned of possible attempts to target Israeli and Jewish individuals in the UAE, especially around Jewish holidays and Shabbat.
The Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There was no immediate comment from the UAE's foreign ministry.
Israel is concerned about retaliatory attacks following its recent military operation against Iran and as it faces mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images
AFP reported that US President Donald Trump's envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ahead of a visit to inspect aid distribution in Gaza, as a deadly food crisis drove mounting international pressure for a ceasefire.
Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of stalled negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, met Netanyahu shortly after his arrival, the Israeli leader's office said.
On Friday, he is to visit Gaza, the White House announced.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Witkoff, who visited Gaza in January, would inspect 'distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground'.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also met Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and afterward declared: 'The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination.
'Here, the Israeli government must act quickly, safely and effectively to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality,' he said.
'I have the impression that this has been understood today.'
In March, the UAE sentenced three people to death for the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in November in the Gulf country, according to Reuters.
Such crimes are rare in the UAE, which is largely viewed as one of the safest places in the Middle East.
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