US allows visa-free travel for Israelis

As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, the United States Thursday launched a visa waiver program allowing Israelis wishing to visit the United States for 90 days or less to come without applying for a visa, reports Arab News.

The US announced Sept 27 that it was admitting Israel into the visa waiver program, adding the country to a select group of 40 mostly European and Asian countries whose citizens can travel to the US for three months without visas.

At the time, the US said Israelis could start travelling to America without visas as of November 30.

In a news release, the Department of Homeland Security said the program was operational as of Thursday.

Officials gave no reason for the changed timeline in the news release issued Thursday.