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Story: Wild Border Crossing, Israel to Jordan, June 18-20/2025

  • Lili Naveh
  • Jun 22
  • 16 min read

Updated: Jun 27




While the war with Gaza,, which started with the murderous Hamas massacres of

Oct 7th 2023, has been lingering for over a year and a half, with the kidnapped not yet released, our family had travel schedules put in motion this June


Our prolonged stay in Israel, since the end of March was coming to an end.

David departed to Colombia on June 4th. and Keren our oldest, now at 7 months pregnancy, had also to make it back, complying to flight regulations, (not risking birthing on the airplane) thus departed to CA, on June 9th.


Since most foreign airlines stopped flying into Israel, due to the Houthis' ongoing random ballistic missile shelling, (from Yemen) both Keren and David needed to switch to the Israel El-Al operating flights, so as to connect to their continuation flights from Europe.


I stayed behind longer, in our TLV apartment, to the delight of my younger daughter, Inbal, (who, with the 2 grands and husband, reside in TLV close by) frequenting often the building's shelter whenever the Home Front Commend sounded off alerts warning against upcoming shelling in the direction of the country’s centers.



Home Front Commend sounded off loud warnings, waking up the entire nation, late night at the wee hours between Tuesday night June 12th and Friday dawn the 13th.

The Israeli media, to the surprise of the world entire, announced its thunderbolt stun attack, against Iran, code-named operation "Rising Lion"

The Israeli Air Force, one of the most skilled and brave in world, took over Iran's sky space in a whirlwind.

Israeli citizens were commanded to stand by on alert near to shelters and safe rooms, in case Iranian retaliation fire

flares up.

All national air, land and sea ports were shut off to the public, and only were open to the military Air Force ascending and descending, The entire country was literally put to halt.

…

The shock of the Israeli surprise attack delayed Iran's retaliation of missile blast, from occurring during entire day on Friday, a day which the Israelis utilized to stock up on food and necessities.


Iranian Symbolic characteristics

With the rise of the religious fervor in both contrary nations, how add it is, considering the differences in their geographical size, for a Lion to be featured as a center stage symbol of might, indicating and rousing in both, bravery and predatory sentiments.


Most non-essential services in TLV (and the rest of the country) were shut off, and very few buses operated through the core routes to bring necessary workers to their work destinations.

The emptied out streets made TLV's atmosphere resemble Yom Kippur, yet without the mass cyclers, excluding the ones of WOLT food delivery.



Keton’s restaurant on Dizingoff St, was kindly willing to seat the 5 of us down for

Friday early eve dinner, as was originally planned (prior to the attack) though the place only served takeaway orders. all day.

Thus we had a nice family dinner that was served by kind Victoria, just prior to when the Iranian missiles’ hell fire broke loose, shortly after we got back home on time.




Since my TLV apartment is on the third floor, each time the warning sirens of Home Front Command go off, and as it is advised not to use the elevator, the need to run down the steps of the three floors to the shelter within a minute or less is definitely a risky challenge. In normal times, it is a a blessed exercise. However under duress, it is not recommended, as many of the injuries of civilians happening were due to such runs..


Thus now, in addition to the rattling siren alerts going off, the Houthi random missiles launching, and the terrifying sounds of the flying barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles above our sheltered heads, (mine and that of the building’s neighbors) compiled with the roaring blasts of the Israeli defensive interceptions , the orchestrated musical disharmonious mess was unbearable even for the deaf-tuned non-refined ear.



About Why Israel Hit Iran: We Believe the Threats from the Tyrants of Tehran . the reply is that Tehran declared that the State of Israel is a "cancerous tumor" that must be eradicated, Furthermore along with the Ayatollah's fanatic regime building a ring of fire with proxy armies surrounding Israel. it displayed a massive doomsday clock in Tehran counting down the time until Israel's destruction. In 2017, a digital clock was installed in Palestine Square, Tehran for Quds Day, Reportedly it was programmed to count down 25 years from a 2015 statement made by Khamenei, in which he predicted that Israel would cease to exist within a quarter century.


(On June 22nd IDF bombed this so-called nefarious “Destruction of Israel” clock )



Israel cannot afford the luxury of denial, not after the horrors of Oct. 7. That day laid bare the genocidal intent.

Mossad Says Iran 15 Days from Bomb -. the White House spokeswoman, said Thursday that Iran had the material it needed to make a bomb.


The Nuclear Reactor Map



Israel stunned and hobbled Iran when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision. Guided by spies and artificial intelligence, Israel's Mossad secret service used a fake phone call to trick 20 members of Iran's air force elite senior staff into gathering at a single location before taking them out in a targeted strike. Israeli Air Force jets have destroyed the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime - the main arm of repression of the Iranian dictator.




Israel's new war deployed small explosive drones that Israeli commandos had reportedly pre-positioned inside Iran months earlier, striking air-defense radars and communications nodes. Mossad Established Explosive Drone Base in Heart of Iran 





Apparently, the impact of the Iranian missiles (in contrast to the Houthi ones) of the barrage factor, intensified by the added acceleration device, triggered just prior to the missile's descent upon a target, (if not intercepted) increases the destructive devastation.


The reported Israeli civilian death toll, compiled with the massive collateral damage both in the main Israeli cities, and also in Arab villages, is a phenomena that the Israeli Home Front has not experience before, and shamefully has not been properly prepared for. 1/3 of the Israeli Home Front lacks safe rooms and shelters, so essential to life saving.



In a country that war has been in play since “time immemorial” this lack of life saving space is not a plain screw-up, but pure Gov. neglectful crime!


A missile hit the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, causing damage to buildings on campus.




24 Israelis Killed in Iran Attacks  (june 17) As of Monday evening, Iranian rocket attacks have killed 24 Israeli civilians and wounded over 590 people.

Iran unleashed a barrage of 30 missiles on Israel Thursday morning. The strikes hit


Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, alongside Holon, Tel Aviv, and Ramat Gan in central Israel, injuring 147 people, 6 seriously.

Israeli Emergency Services Treated 1,000 Casualties from Iran Attacks -including 23 fatalities, 14 severely wounded, 26 moderately wounded, 591 lightly wounded, 149 anxiety,suffering, and 204 no evacuation was required


Thus since June 13th, staying in doors at home, being on the alert for Home Front Command sirens sounding off, or running to the shelter, on the average 3 times at nights and fewer during the day-time, was my main occupation, In addition to being deprived of sleep, and fatigued by checking up on others about their safety, whatsapping with concerned family/friends around the world, who were checking/ inquiring about my safety, and obsessively tracking the evolving news, badly got to me.

To maintain my sanity, when being cooped up at home near the shelter, I also accomplished to put in order and clear out from the drawers and cupboard all junk and old clothes, a very productive occupational therapy activity, in deflecting stress.. However for only short while.


After 5 explosive days, and sleep-deprived nights, as well as having glass shattered from the blast, at the staircase to the roof of our building, while no forecast to this war's expiration, nor exit strategy on the horizon, I decided to quit sitting as a lame duck,

I decided to get out of the country, instead of the lethal possibility of a random non-intercepted Iranian Ballistic death roulette-hit.


I had a return El-Al air ticket for June 23rd, but which was canceled as airports have been closed, and I became more worried by the minute about leaving the pregnant daughter on her own, at this late pregnancy stage. Not knowing when I would be able to fly out, and worrying about not having time to prepare for the baby’s arrival, propelled me to action.


Furthermore the fact that the country was closed off to any departures/arrival by air and sea and that no Gov. pre-plan was made to facilitate freedom of movement, to the thousands of Israelis stranded abroad or also tourists and Israelis stuck inside, really enraged me.


Private rescue initiatives started to be formed by creative private Israeli skippers and boat owners, offering sailing solutions from Cyprus and other near Mediterranean Sea ports, to Israel, or taking Israelis out of Israel to those ports so the stranded could connect to destinations abroad.



Those initiatives which were costly and also at times over 30 hours sail on rough summer sea waters, were not viable for me. And the Gov had not yet developed any timely emergency rescue plans, thus the parody of the pulled behind Banana by the inept Israeli transportation minister, who is useless during peace times let alone at war...


My reaching out to the amazing operator and ultimate net-worker - Offir who is the founder of the grass root social network organization UnaXeptable, was my best bet

to attain a "rescue line" . Offir was kind to connect me with Doug who was concurrently working on getting his 30 years old daughter - Amanda, out of Israel,

Amanda got stranded in the TLV Embassy Hotel, all this time, while attending a Jewish Teachers Conference.


Doug was looking for others interested to share the ride from TLV to Amman Jordan, so Amanda wouldn’t be alone in this risky voyage via the Jordan River Land Crossing border, (or Sheikh Hussein Bridge) which is the northern international border crossing between Jordan and Israel. located between Irbid, in Jordan, and Beit She'an, Israel.

Thus that opportunity cemented my fast rescue risk-taking decision.


I begged my other daughter Inbal, who took an excellent care of me, during these 5 “blasting”days, to depart with me and with her children, on that rescue crossing. However she was completely reactant to leave her husband behind. He was reluctant to depart and leave behind, his own visiting parents - our wonderful in-laws.

Thus that parting from her was an heartbreaking experience for us both.

Her dealings with selling an apartment , checking out from a rental property, and packing for an upcoming transfer to the US, seriously got in the way of her consenting.


Doug kindly booked a car service, from a Tour Company named Tourist Israel which provides a reliable Airport shuttle Service to Amman's Airport, to drive us on June 18th from TLV to the Israeli Jordan River border crossing, and after the crossing, to continue in Jordan to Amman, with the Jordanian counter part.

Doug was so generous, by treating me to the ride , for which I am so grateful, while being so glad just that I could accompany Amanda.


P.S. (Allenby Bridge Crossing (King Hussein)  is only for Palestinian and Foreigners ,

not for Israelis,)


So here is the info on this company which has been operating for the past 8 years



Natasha from Tourist Israel

Tourist Israel <info@touristisrael.com> Tel: 03-3763574




The Drivers who drove us


From TLV to the Jordan River Crossing. Ahmad . - +972 58 704 9565


Drivers Coordinator of all drivers on on Jordanian side = Rawan. +962 797493358


From Border Crossing to Amman. - +962 7 9520 2235.


From Hotel to Amman Airport. Oday (son of Mahamad) +962 7 9174 8642



Once my decision was made, in the very short time period, prior to my departure, and thanks to Amanda’s helpful advise, my husband David, was frantically and relentlessly, working, concurrently (from Colombia), together with the help of my wonderful son in Law ( from Washington DC, who is proficient in Arabic) to order me on line a

 Jordanian pre-paid E- Transit Visa, access from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Minister of The Interior . Apparently it is a very unfriendly user process. but necessary.

To obtain an Entry Visa to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, one can apply online through the Ministry of Interior's website or, in some cases, upon arrival at border crossings.which is less recommended



Having a per-paid prior to arriving to the Border Crossing is very effective as it saves tones of time at the border. 


For online applications, visit the official Ministry of Interior website or use their mobile app. You will need to create an account, fill out the application form, upload required documents (including a photo and passport copy), and pay the Visa fee. Processing times can vary, with some taking a few business days and others potentially longer.

I was lucky to get the visa in just few hours



David was also working all that time as the best Travel Agent, I could ever gotten,

He was searching for me flights, out of Amman, a.s.a.p, while seeing the airline tickets' reservoir, mainly of Royal Jordanian Airline, disappearing sold, by the minute.

That strenuous tasks which he amazingly accomplished, timely, sadly inflicted him with migraine headache and even temperature, caused by the worrying and stress.


Jordan economic gains (and those of other exit ports) obviously has been made, sadly on the expense of those  declining Israeli ones.

On the morning of our departure Inbal dropped me at the Embassy hotel, situated at the corner of Hayrkon /Shalom Aliecam streets (how ironic..) and our parting was very very sad and emotionally shattering.

An un-intercepted falling missile, which had missed the US embassy 2 days prior, left many of the near by building’s and glass also smashed from the missile blast, including that of the Embassy hotel’ and of near by businesses,


The Israeli Arab driver showed up on time with a large Van. which made my heart cringe, as obviously there was enough space to accommodate Amanda , my daughter her kids and myself .. yet it was a wasted....


The one hour an a half drive via fast route 6 was pleasantly smooth and uneventful. Upbeat well traveled Amanda, originally from Silicon Valley, shared her own experiences of the past 4 days since her arrival as well as about her professional life, That kept my mind off this strenuous sad departure, from my family, friends and the bleeding country at large, for a while.



The reflected pastoral nature and cultivated landscape of Jesreel valley in its wonderful splendor, totally oblivious to the devastation and trauma caused by this additional war front, was another distraction.




Upon the drop off at 11:30 am by the Israeli border crossing side, the area was already mobbed by several hundreds Israelis and tourists who swarmed the morph-less long lines, including the VIP one which allegedly supposes to shorten the crossing process.



Exodus 2025 (hopefully temporary) of many stranded, and others who just wished to get out of the blasted country as fast as possible, was in full operation, also at all other border terrestrial crossings.



Giving up on the VIP service at the Israeli side, we approached a lone machine dispenser that prints out the required Tax Pass which can be paid with a credit card. Then using the electronic Passport machines, fat the Passport control, station actually shorten the exit process from the Israeli side, and got us out pretty fast, proceeding to the Jordanian administrative side. And here is where the crossing became a much wild affair..


Dragging our luggage in the high heat of the day, we joined a very long line of passengers, waiting to board large tourist buses, that would drive across, the longer distance to the Jordanian admin. station


It took a round of 4 buses, before our turn to get on the bus arrived. Meanwhile people from all around, were trying to cut in line, pushing their luggage onto the bus' storage space, as to faster get on the buss without waiting, inyet another morph-less line.


While wait -sitting inside the bus, a delay of about 45 minutes occurred, We were parked still, before the driver was let to drive. When finally being dropped us off the bus driver demanded 5 NIS for the ride, from each passenger..

2 nice young guys with whom we, mainly Amanda, conversed when waiting on line,

and who later set behind us on the bus, cavalierly donated their extra Israeli small change and paid for us.

kindness can always be found, even in most unexpected strenuous moments


Once Inside the Jordanian admin building the wildness was at its peak

A large morph-less crowd was mobbing the service windows, in a fairly small hall

with no posted instruction signs i the English language,


After being disoriented for few minutes, I approached an uniformed Jordanian staff sitting idle (with 2 others) behind a glass window, totally oblivious to the stirred hullabaloo in front of him and insisted that he stamp my passport as I had pre-paid Entry Visa. and let me cross, over.

Initially he tried to dismiss me or he didn’t believe I have the pre-paid Visa, or just didn't feel like helping or working.. However when he finally got my drift, and thoroughly inspected the document I displayed on my phone, he preformed the "heavy duty" task of stamping my document, with grand pomposity .

Then the same was requested from him with Amand’s passport … well that went a bit less smoothly due to lack of WiFi.. ..


So here are some critical tips to make the process as short as possible.

+Order the pre paid Visa on Line. You will need first to create an account with the Jordanian Internal Ministry and then order the Visa

+If you have dual citizenship, order the Visa with your US passport, and don’t divulge you have another (Israeli) passport

+ Have a paper copy of the VISA (and the payment receipt) or store a photo copy into your Phone Album, so you can easily display it when asked, at the land crossing and also at the airport.


Once our passports were stamped, we were release out dragging our luggage another short distance, to find the Jordanian driver at the border's parking lot


Though there was initially a bit confusion regarding the phone number and name of the actual driver, Amanda’s father sorted it out, by also getting the car license plate, during when we were hustled at the border crossing. Thus the Van and the driver were found as prep-coordinated by TouristIsrael.


Relieved and about to drive away, a Moldavian stranger guy who also crossed the border, was trying with a broken Hebrew, to join us for the ride to Amman. Not happy about it, the driver took him anyway, however for a short distance, and dispatched him to another driver friend of his, for a 100$ charge. for the ride to the airport.


The two and a half hours drive along the Jordan Valley part of the larger Rift Valley. revealed green irrigated fields on the West side of the road and barren yellow desert landscape on the East side. There was not much appealing scenery most of the way.



We made it safely to Amman.late afternoon. The experience though chaotic and strenuous wasn't scary nor dangerous, while Amanda's father and my daughter were tracking and monitoring our progress all the way, on the phone -share location.


Since both Amanda and I had to spend an overnight in Amman, our ways parted there, Amanda was dropped at the Hilton and I at the Sheraton, both, very good hotels to stay at, close to each in the center part of Amman.


Again I am profusely grateful to Doug, Amanda's father who facilitated this grand operation and accompanied us at every step on the road, as well as problem solving along with my wonderful daughter Inbal , so we could make it safely to Amman.


While at the Sheraton Amman ,which is a great hotel, I was able to shed off the day’s high heat, stress and fatigue by enjoying laps at the hotel's pool and tasting the hotels’ Italian Restaurant, as well as huge breakfast to which I upgraded. myself.


Unbelievably, but alert sirens followed me and were also sounded off by the Jordanian Home Front Commend, in a distance from the hotel at Amman, They could be heard just few minutes before they were sounded off in Israel, each time the Iranian lounged their ballistic missiles, flying over across Jordan .toward Israeli destinations

Caught in the Crossfire, Jordan (Quietly) Shieldsed Israel. For the past days, the kingdom of Jordan has been caught in the middle of the Israel-Iran war, its airspace turned into a battleground where ballistic missiles meet interceptors and drones are knocked out of the sky. Falling missile debris, interceptor shrapnel, and explosive drones have injured several Jordanians and caused significant property damage.

According to Jordan's National Center for Security and Crisis Management, around 100 pieces of shrapnel from drones or missiles landed in Jordan during the first seven days of the war.


Had it not been these insane circumstances, I would have loved to stay at the hotel longer and explore Amman and other parts of Jordan, properly, since in the past I only visited in Aqaba and Petra (you can read more here   and here  and  here  and here).


As I asked David not to purchase any airline ticket before I am safely across the border, in Jordan , the ticket to Athens which he though of initially getting, prior to when I was dispatched on the road, was gone, So I flew to Barcelona with Royal Jordanian, instead.


From Barcelona I was able to use my original ticket and connect with BA to London. Spent an overnight (June 19th) there, and continued the day after (June 20) to SFO.


After 3 days on the road and wild crossing, I safely landed in SFO on June 20th at midday, and so did Amanda, who was booked on another air route, yet this journy is not over for me until my daughter and family as well as the rest of Israel are safe and in peace, with its neighbors of the wild wild Middle East.



Just a day after my landing and before I manged to post this story, the news announced (June 21) of US getting into the war and successfully bombing the 3 Iranian nuclear sites, facilities, including the subterranean Fordow nuclear enrichment facility,.Natanz and Esfahan . And Iran warning the US that strikes will have everlasting consequences,..





Stirring yet additional, bleak unknown future and grave worries, about when and how will it all end, when so much testosterone spiced with the fervor of the 3 monotheistic religions,has been uncontrollably unleashed, by larger then life egos ???









And here is additional useful info









More Update

Two days after the US attack o (June 23)

With the war's alleged ending, Israeli internal Governing issues surfaces again.


With Trump's efforts to halt Bibi, the unity of the Israeli Gov is at risk without the war


The ME Crisis is not over yet . It is still unknown, where the Iranian enriched stock pile of Uranium is? The hostages are not yet back, and Gaza future is still unknown... Peace is as allusive, as before all these war scuffles have begun,...


Was the enriched stock pile of Uranium removed by trucks prior to the Attack?


Yet there is this Deal on an Horizon ....


If Trump succeeds in pulling off the Abraham Accord vision, unifying the 3 monotheistic religions, to which monuments have been already constructed in Abu Dhabi) by cementing the grand Middle East Oil Deal to transport oil via the new Silk Road which passes through the moderate

ME countries, then he will definitively be qualified for the Nobel Price.


Normalization by Convergence of Business Interests of the Moderates


Let's hope...

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