WASHINGTON: The State Department has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the US embassy in Israel as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify and President Donald Trump warns of the possibility of getting directly involved in the conflict.
A government plane evacuated a number of diplomats and family members who had asked to leave the country Wednesday, two US officials said. That came shortly before US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on X that the embassy was making plans for evacuation flights and ships for private American citizens.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements.
“Given the ongoing situation and as part of the embassy’s authorized departure status, mission personnel have begun departing Israel through a variety of means,” the State Department said.
“Authorized departure” means that nonessential staff and the families of all personnel are eligible to leave at government expense.
There was no indication of how many diplomats and family members departed on the flight or how many may have left by land routes to Jordan or Egypt.
The evacuations, comments from the White House and shifting of American military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East have heightened the possibility of deepening US involvement in a conflict that threatens to spill into a wider regional war.
Trump has issued increasingly pointed warnings about the US joining Israel in striking at Iran’s nuclear program, saying Wednesday that he doesn’t want to carry out a US strike on the Islamic Republic but suggesting he is ready to act if it’s necessary.
The State Department also has steadily ramped up its warnings to American citizens in Israel and throughout the region, including in Iraq.
Last week, ahead of Israel’s first strikes on Iran, the department and the Pentagon put out notices announcing that the US embassy in Baghdad had ordered all nonessential personnel to leave and that the Defense Department had “authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East.
Those warnings have increased as the conflict has intensified, with the embassy in Jerusalem authorizing the departure of nonessential staff and families over the weekend and ordering remaining personnel to shelter in place until further notice.
The embassy has been closed since Monday and will remain shut through Friday.
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US starts evacuating some diplomats from its embassy in Israel as Iran conflict intensifies
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US starts evacuating some diplomats from its embassy in Israel as Iran conflict intensifies
- Those warnings have increased as the conflict has intensified, with the embassy in Jerusalem authorizing the departure of nonessential staff and families over the weekend
South Korean lawmakers pass bill targeting false information despite warnings on censorship
SEOUL: South Korea’s liberal-led legislature on Wednesday passed a bill allowing heavy punitive damages against traditional news and Internet media for publishing “false or fabricated information,” brushing aside concerns the legislation could lead to greater censorship.
Journalist groups and civil liberty advocates urged President Lee Jae Myung to veto the bill pushed by his Democratic Party. They say the wording is vague about what information would be banned and lacks sufficient protections for the press, potentially discouraging critical reporting on public officials, politicians and big businesses.
The Democrats, who have failed to pass similar legislation under past governments, say the law is needed to counter a growing threat of fake news and disinformation that they argue undermine democracy by fueling divisions and hate speech.
The bill would allow courts to award punitive damages of up to five times the proven losses against news organizations and large YouTube channels that disseminate “illegal information or false, fabricated information” to cause harm or seek profit.
The bill also would allow damages of up to 50 million won ($34,200) for losses that are difficult to quantify in court. The country’s media regulator would be able to fine outlets up to 1 billion won ($684,000) for distributing information a court confirms to be false or manipulated more than twice.
The bill passed the National Assembly by a vote of 170-3 with four abstentions after many lawmakers from the main conservative opposition People Power Party boycotted the vote. The vote was delayed after a 24-hour filibuster by PPP, during which lawmakers from both parties debated the bill.
PPP lawmaker Choi Soo-jin said during the filibuster that the bill fails to define the degree of inaccuracy for information to be banned, warning it could be broadly applied to content containing minor errors or general claims and used as a tool to silence critics with the threat of lawsuits.
The Democrats argue punitive damages would apply only when there is clarity that false information has been deliberately spread for harmful or profit-seeking purposes and causes actual damage, while routine allegations or claims would not be penalized.
They note the law prohibits filing damage claims with the purpose of “obstructing just criticism or oversight conducted in the public interest,” although legal experts and journalist groups have criticized the provision as vague and unrealistic.
“What the law targets is not (legitimate) criticism but the malicious and deliberate dissemination of false information,” Democratic Party spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said. “(The bill) is based on the requirement of intent and also exempts satire and parody, clearly distinguishing (what should be respected as) freedom of expression.”
The National Union of Media Workers urged Lee’s government and the Democrats to address concerns that regulating false or manipulated information by law could infringe on freedom of expression and expose media companies to abusive lawsuits, chilling scrutiny of those in power.
“We urge (them) to clearly reaffirm that the law would target only a tiny portion (of content) that’s ‘false or fabricated information’ and to carefully review the bill to eliminate any potential infringement on freedom of the press and of expression,” the group said in a statement. “We call on them to carefully define the law’s scope when drafting (the law’s) enforcement ordinance.”
Journalist groups and civil liberty advocates urged President Lee Jae Myung to veto the bill pushed by his Democratic Party. They say the wording is vague about what information would be banned and lacks sufficient protections for the press, potentially discouraging critical reporting on public officials, politicians and big businesses.
The Democrats, who have failed to pass similar legislation under past governments, say the law is needed to counter a growing threat of fake news and disinformation that they argue undermine democracy by fueling divisions and hate speech.
The bill would allow courts to award punitive damages of up to five times the proven losses against news organizations and large YouTube channels that disseminate “illegal information or false, fabricated information” to cause harm or seek profit.
The bill also would allow damages of up to 50 million won ($34,200) for losses that are difficult to quantify in court. The country’s media regulator would be able to fine outlets up to 1 billion won ($684,000) for distributing information a court confirms to be false or manipulated more than twice.
The bill passed the National Assembly by a vote of 170-3 with four abstentions after many lawmakers from the main conservative opposition People Power Party boycotted the vote. The vote was delayed after a 24-hour filibuster by PPP, during which lawmakers from both parties debated the bill.
PPP lawmaker Choi Soo-jin said during the filibuster that the bill fails to define the degree of inaccuracy for information to be banned, warning it could be broadly applied to content containing minor errors or general claims and used as a tool to silence critics with the threat of lawsuits.
The Democrats argue punitive damages would apply only when there is clarity that false information has been deliberately spread for harmful or profit-seeking purposes and causes actual damage, while routine allegations or claims would not be penalized.
They note the law prohibits filing damage claims with the purpose of “obstructing just criticism or oversight conducted in the public interest,” although legal experts and journalist groups have criticized the provision as vague and unrealistic.
“What the law targets is not (legitimate) criticism but the malicious and deliberate dissemination of false information,” Democratic Party spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said. “(The bill) is based on the requirement of intent and also exempts satire and parody, clearly distinguishing (what should be respected as) freedom of expression.”
The National Union of Media Workers urged Lee’s government and the Democrats to address concerns that regulating false or manipulated information by law could infringe on freedom of expression and expose media companies to abusive lawsuits, chilling scrutiny of those in power.
“We urge (them) to clearly reaffirm that the law would target only a tiny portion (of content) that’s ‘false or fabricated information’ and to carefully review the bill to eliminate any potential infringement on freedom of the press and of expression,” the group said in a statement. “We call on them to carefully define the law’s scope when drafting (the law’s) enforcement ordinance.”
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