11 October 2023 , 15:44
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Celestyal Cruises has announced it will be suspending ports of call to Israel until the end of November 2023.
On October 7, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a large-scale offensive against Israel via land, sea and air. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed 900 Israelis have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Following the attack, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was "at war". Hamas militants have threatened to kill one Israeli civilian captive any time Israel targets civilians at their homes in Gaza "without prior warning", as authorities confirmed the bodies of 1,500 Hamas militants have been found on Israeli territory.
A number of airlines including easyJet and Ryanair have cancelled flights to Israel as the Foreign Office has updated its Israel travel advice and warned against all but essential travel to Israel.
The cruises were originally due to stop at Ashdod in Israel (Getty Images)Now, Celestyal Cruises confirmed that sailings would be suspended until the end of November. The cruise line says it will continue to monitor the situation for itineraries after this date and is maintaining "constant communication with the authorities".
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The change affects its Three Continents cruises, where the call to Ashdod, Israel, will be temporarily replaced with Heraklion, Crete, for sailings in late October and throughout November. The cruise line said it would contact affected passengers in the coming days.
Chris Theophilides, CEO at Celestyal, said: "Firstly, as a business, our thoughts are with those impacted by the events in Israel. We wish for the safety of everyone affected and a rapid return of peace to the country. We remain in close coordination with the authorities, and the safety, security, and comfort of our guests remains our upmost priority.
"On the advice of our internal teams and the relevant authorities, we have decided to temporarily replace Israel on our Three Continents itinerary with the city of Heraklion on the island of Crete, until the end of November this year. Our teams will be contacting affected customers to advise them of the updates to their itineraries and the additional provisions that have been made to ensure their continued enjoyment."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a Cobra meeting this week regarding the conflict, with around 50,000 to 60,000 Brits estimated to be in either Israel and Gaza, with concerns for their safety.
While the Foreign Office warns against all but essential travel to Israel, it is also warning against all travel to certain regions including:
- Gaza
- the Sheba’a Farms and Ghajjar
- within 500m of the border with Lebanon (the ‘Blue Line’) east of Metula, including the northern edge of the town and within 500m of the border with Syria (the ‘Alpha Line’)
- the area close to the border with Gaza that includes:
- southwest of Ashkelon
- south of route 35 and west of route 40 as far as Tlalim, not including Be’er Sheva
- west of Be’er Sheva
- north of route 211
For further information head to the Foreign Office's Israel travel advice.