The Foreign Ministry issued a warning Thursday to Israelis traveling in Ecuador recommending that they remain indoors due to the upheaval currently taking place in the country.
The ministry also warned against attending mass rallies or visiting crowded areas, but said it had received no reports of injured Israelis. For those planning to travel to Ecuador, the ministry advises against it, and stresses that any who choose to go there do so at their own risk.
Police protesters attacked Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa in an eruption of political unrest over austerity measures on Thursday, leaving the leftist leader holed up in a hospital with demonstrators outside.
Correa told local media by phone that police protesters were hunting for him in the building and would be responsible if he was hurt. Some of the president's supporters then descended on the hospital and hurled stones at police outside.
Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino had called on supporters to march with him to save their trapped leader.
"President Correa has said that there are people trying to get in from the roof and attack him," Patino told a large crowd outside the presidential palace. "I want to invite the brave people here below to go with us to rescue the president."
Ecuador, an OPEC member of 14 million people, has a history of political instability. Street protests toppled three presidents during economic turmoil in the decade before Correa took power.
Correa, a socialist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said his rivals were plotting a coup against him, and that he and his wife were stunned by an exploding tear gas canister as he tried to speak to demonstrators.
Visibly furious, he earlier confronted police demonstrating at the planned budget cuts and challenged them: "Kill me if you want to. Kill me if you have the courage."
As the chaotic scenes unfolded, scores of soldiers took over the main international airport, which was closed to flights, while uniformed police burned tires and blocked some roads in protest at a proposal to cut their bonuses.
Reuters contributed to this report