Pentagon Suspends Travel to Israel for Senior Defense Officials Amid Hamas-Israel War

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin locates authority only with himself or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for authorizing any Defense officials' travel to conflict zone; Members of Congress also advised against visiting.

The Pentagon has suspended travel to Israel for senior defense and military officials due to the intensifying conflict between Israel and Hamas. Travel restrictions also apply to congressional visits requiring Department of Defense (DoD) support.
These restrictions, enacted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, do not apply to President Biden, members of the presidential cabinet, Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Grady, or the service secretaries or chiefs.
The new policy stems from a memo issued by Austin, restricting defense or military leaders' visits to Israel effective immediately and until further notice. For any officials needing to travel, authorization must be directly from Austin or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Amid the escalating war, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in Israel meeting with officials, advocating for a 'humanitarian pause'. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled there will be no pause.
Despite these travel restrictions, the normal flow of military and civilian personnel to the US Central Command will not be affected. Other senior members of the military can ask for special permission to travel.