On June 13, 2025, escalating tensions between Israel and Iran reached a breaking point as Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion,” targeting over 100 nuclear and military sites. The aftermath saw retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, plunging the region into crisis. Amid the mounting instability, the Everbridge Security Operations Team faced a critical challenge to secure the safe evacuation of a British expatriate family stranded in Tel Aviv.

Challenges

The unfolding crisis presented urgent and complex challenges that demanded swift action and precision coordination:

Airspace closures:

• Israeli airspace was completely shut down, ruling out air travel as a feasible evacuation route.

Volatile security conditions:

• Ongoing attacks and regional instability presented significant risks, including unpredictable road conditions and potential threats along the escape route.

High demand for border crossings:

• Thousands of people sought refuge in neighboring countries, leading to overcrowded border points and extended delays.

With lives at stake and time running out, a clear, actionable plan was essential.

Solutions

Everbridge responded with a multi-faceted approach, in partnership with its RIMC team as well as leveraging its local partnerships, advanced technology, and crisis management expertise to deliver a timely solution.

Real-time risk analysis

Immediately after receiving the evacuation request, Everbridge conducted a rapid risk assessment. Two potential routes were identified for ground evacuation:

01 Travel to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, via the Taba border crossing.

02 Travel to Amman, Jordan, via the Jordan River border crossing.

The Jordan River route was assessed as the safest and most efficient option under the circumstances.

Coordinated execution

A detailed evacuation plan was rapidly mobilized:

• Dedicated security support: A secure vehicle, a trained security driver, and a Close Protection Operative (CPO) were deployed to escort the family to the Jordan river crossing.
• Pre-arrival preparation: Everbridge ensured the family was fully briefed on potential delays and the chaotic border conditions.

Despite the high volume of travelers, Everbridge maintained continuous communication with the family to provide situational updates and reassurance.

Seamless transition

Upon crossing into Jordan, the family met with the Jordan-based team from Everbridge, which included another secure vehicle, driver, and CPO. The team ensured the family’s safe arrival at Queen Alia International Airport, enabling them to board a flight to the United Kingdom.

Results

The Everbridge team managed a quick and coordinated response and brought the family to safety within an operational window of less than 36 hours. Additional outcomes illustrated expertise from Everbridge during this crisis:

• Safe evacuations achieved: The British expatriate family was transported seamlessly to the UK, avoiding immediate danger.
• Broader crisis support: Beyond assisting this family, Everbridge coordinated evacuations for other clients across the region, extracting personnel from high-risk zones such as Iraq and neighboring Gulf countries.
• Operational continuity in volatile conditions: Real-time intelligence and trusted local partnerships enabled ongoing evacuations amidst the constantly shifting security environment.

Despite the high volume of travelers, Everbridge maintained continuous communication with the family to provide situational updates and reassurance.

Why this matters

This high-pressure mission underscores the proven capability of the Everbridge team to deliver comprehensive, secure, and timely evacuations during volatile geopolitical crises. By integrating global resources, live intelligence, and expert crisis management, Everbridge once again demonstrated its commitment to safeguarding its clients when every second counts.

Challenges

A global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases often sees its personnel traveling to remote destinations. But when a number of its personnel found themselves caught at the center of a terrorist attack, it was in a rather more unexpected location. 

A lone perpetrator driving a stolen van sped down a busy pedestrian street in Stockholm, Sweden, intentionally hitting innocent bystanders. The van then crashed into the corner wall of an office building where three of the client’s staff were working just floors above. On hearing the crash and subsequent gunfire, the locally based team placed an emergency call to their Global Security Operations Center, who immediately contacted Everbridge for assistance.

With a major incident unfolding outside their building, the affected employees were obviously fearful for their own safety. 

Solutions

Aware that the security situation was fluid, Everbridge liaised with the employees directly, coaching them on how to shelter-in-place and barricade the doors until support personnel could reach them. The employees were then talked through the specific identification protocols that would allow them to correctly identify the local Everbridge support personnel who would be retrieving them from their office and escorting them to safety. 

Provided with the name, telephone number and photograph of the key close protection officer deployed, the employees were also provided with a password that the individual would use as an additional identifier on arrival.

In order to ensure the safe extraction of the employees, Everbridge provided a car, driver and close protection officer. Both the officer and the driver were trained in security operations, close protection and defensive driving.

With the immediate area cordoned off by the local police, the Everbridge team staged the vehicle nearby and proceeded on foot to the client’s office. As the situation in the city was deemed a terrorist attack, the impacted personnel were duly extracted and escorted to an official meeting point away from the incident and outside the city limits, in order for them to connect with family members and loved ones. 

Those employees unable to be collected from the staging area were delivered directly to their homes. The employees were obviously very shaken up by the experience. Although physically unharmed themselves, the incident had resulted in a number of fatalities and numerous injuries, which were steadily being reported by media. 

Experienced in dealing with traumatic events, the Everbridge driver and close protection officer were able to provide the employees with reassurance and support on the scene in order to help calm them down and deal with the immediate effects. 

As standard practice after the event, Everbridge offered professional grief counseling and therapy support to those affected. 

The outcome

All the affected personnel were safely extracted from their office and escorted to safety. Through-out the operation, the Everbridge team kept in close contact with the client’s own Global Security Operations Center in order to ensure that they were kept fully abreast of the situation and reassured that their employees were in safe hands.

Full transcript

[00:05.0]
Hello everyone. Thank you for joining. My name is James Burr and I’m the Senior Regional Analyst for Europe Caucuses and Central Asia. I want to give you a quick briefing on an ongoing security risk, rising antisemitic violence across Europe with a focus on the recent attack outside the synagogue to the north of Manchester in the UK.

[00:24.6]
On October 2 during Yom Kippur A car ramming and stabbing outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation killed two worshippers and injured several others. This was the most severe antisemitic attack in Europe so far this year, and authorities immediately labeled it an act of terrorism.

[00:42.9]
The timing on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar underscored the deliberate symbolic nature of the violence. But this isn’t an isolated event. Since the onset of the Gaza war in 2023, we’ve seen a surge in antisemitic violence, vandalism and intimidation across Europe.

[01:00.0]
And this trend has continued as we approach the second anniversary of that conflict erupting. In the UK alone, there are about 1,500 incidents recorded in just the first half of this year, an extremely high figure. France and Germany are also seeing similar patterns with attacks on synagogues, schools, Jewish leaders and cultural sites being reported this year.

[01:20.7]
Even smaller Jewish communities like those in Switzerland are being targeted. So why does this matter now? The Manchester attack highlights how antisemitic sentiments are manifested in acts of targeted violence. It also raises the risk of copycat incidents, particularly around Jewish holidays, or at high profile institutions.

[01:42.2]
Security services are responding with stronger patrols, but the overall threat environment remains elevated and geographically dispersed across much of Europe. For businesses or institutions directly impacted by these antisemitic attacks on their premises or in the vicinity, there are several implications.

[02:01.8]
Operations may be disrupted by lockdowns and road closures near attack sites. There are also knock on effects for supply chains, corporate travel security, insurance costs and even legal liability if firms fail to meet duty of care obligations.

[02:18.4]
Looking ahead, we assess with moderate to high confidence that antisemitic violence will stay elevated across Europe into 2026, with spikes during Jewish holidays and at moments of geopolitical tension. So what can organizations do? A few key resilience measures include upgrading site security, running vehicle ramming and active attacker drills, using real-time intelligence and alerting systems, and strengthening communication plans.

[02:47.5]
Partnerships with local law enforcement and geo security organizations are also critical, as are reviews of insurance and legal protections. In short, this is a sustained and regional trend that businesses and communities alike are encouraged to prepare for, not just an isolated crisis.

On April 28, 2025, millions across Southern Europe woke up to widespread power outages disrupting transportation, communications, and business operations.