Tel Aviv

Is Tel Aviv safe?

Day to day, Tel Aviv is a low-crime city with busy beaches, late nights and some of the best hospitals in the region. The risk is conflict, and it changes quickly. After the US and Israel struck Iran on 28 February 2026, Iranian ballistic missiles hit the Tel Aviv area several times. One killed a man in the city on 27 March, and a cluster warhead wounded 15 people across greater Tel Aviv on 22 March. Terrorist attacks have also hit the city and Jaffa in recent years.

We score Tel Aviv 60, the same as Israel, with low confidence because the situation can shift within days. On crime, roads and health alone the city would score higher, but missiles reach Tel Aviv as they reach the rest of the country, so the city shares Israel's conflict cap.

Missiles, sirens and shelters

Israeli authorities told the BBC that 21 civilians in Israel were killed by Iranian missile strikes between 28 February and 18 June 2026. In Tel Aviv, impacts damaged homes and streets: on 22 March fragments fell in the centre, including around Habima Square, and Iranian cluster munitions scatter bomblets over a wide area. The US and Iran announced a memorandum of understanding on 17 June. The UK lifted its advice against all travel to Israel on 3 June, and its latest update says missile and drone attacks have become less frequent but can still happen anywhere, with risk from falling interception debris and disruption at Ben Gurion airport. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary also reports Iranian strikes against US targets elsewhere in the region since 8 July.

What to do from the first day:

• Install the Home Front Command app and switch on alerts.
• Ask your hotel where the protected room (mamad) or building shelter is. Older buildings may have only a shared shelter, or none.
• When a siren sounds, go to shelter within the time the alert gives and stay until the all-clear.
• Do not touch fragments or film impact sites; emergency crews need the space.

Terrorism and protests

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Israel and asks visitors to take extra care on public transport in Tel Aviv, at transport hubs and on buses in the greater Tel Aviv area. Recent attacks it lists include three bombs on empty buses in the Tel Aviv area in February 2025, which caused no casualties, a shooting and stabbing attack in Jaffa that killed seven people in 2024, and a car-ramming in Tel Aviv in 2023 that killed one. Expect bag checks by security guards at malls and stations.

Large political demonstrations are common in Tel Aviv and have sometimes blocked roads to Ben Gurion airport. Keep away from them and allow extra time for the airport when protests are announced.

Crime and the beaches

Ordinary crime is not the worry. Israel's homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary rose to about 3 per 100,000 in 2025, driven mostly by organised-crime violence and feuds, which rarely touch visitors. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's main crime warning for visitors is that theft of passports, cards and valuables from public beaches is common. Leave your passport in the hotel safe, carry a copy, and do not leave phones on a towel while you swim. Watch bags in Carmel Market and the Jaffa flea market on Fridays.

Swim at beaches with lifeguards and follow the flags. Tel Aviv's beaches are long and popular, and currents can be strong on windy days.

Roads, e-bikes and air

Israel had its worst year on the roads in two decades in 2025: 443 deaths by mid-December, about 4.4 per 100,000. In Tel Aviv itself the danger for visitors is less from cars than from e-bikes and electric scooters, which are everywhere on pavements and cycle lanes. Look both ways even on footpaths, and if you rent an e-bike, wear a helmet and keep to the lanes. CBS data show four people aged 15 to 24 died on Tel Aviv-Yafo's roads in 2025.

Air quality is moderate: Israel's PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary averaged 17.2 µg/m³ in 2024, according to IQAir. Tap water is safe. Summer heat and humidity are high from June to September, so drink plenty and avoid long walks at midday.

Getting help

Call 100 for police, 101 for an ambulance and 104 for the Home Front Command. Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) handles major emergencies. Care is excellent but expensive, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that hospitals may take legal action to stop you leaving until bills are paid, so travel insurance that covers conflict is essential. For other regional trips, compare Istanbul and Dubai.

How we scored it

Violent crime (52) is the weakest factor because we fold the 2026 missile strikes and terrorism into it; on crime alone Tel Aviv would score in the 80s. Health and environment (82) is the strongest. Walking at night (78) follows Gallup's national figure of 71% for Israel, which we use as the survey basis for cities outside Europe. The weighted average of the factors is 72, but the overall score is capped at 60 (Israel's conflict score of 25 + 35): a city cannot score above its country's conflict ceiling, because missiles and attacks do not stop at city limits. A lasting end to the fighting would raise Israel's conflict score and lift the cap.