Several Western governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately as tensions rise in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh by Iran. to Israel and the USA.
Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran on Wednesday, hours after the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut, triggered promises of revenge from Iran and the so-called “axis of resistance”.
The Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian group Hamas, and the Israeli army have been negotiating cross-border attacks since Israel’s attack on Gaza began in October, after Hamas led a rare attack inside Israeli territory, killing some 1,139 people and taking around 240 other captives.
Iranian-backed groups from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria have already been drawn into Israel’s nearly 10-month war against Gaza. But this week’s killings of Haniyeh and Shukr have raised fears of a regional conflagration.
On Saturday, Israel’s ally the US said it would move additional warships and fighter planes to the region and urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave with “any available ticket.”
The US embassy in Beirut has asked its citizens to “prepare contingency plans” if they choose to remain in Lebanon and be prepared to “shelter in place for an extended period of time”.
The UK Foreign Office also urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave “now whilst commercial options remain available”.
“Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate quickly,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement. “As we work around the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British citizens is clear – leave now.”
On Sunday, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning, inviting its citizens in Lebanon to leave “as soon as possible” due to the risk of a military escalation.
“In a highly volatile security context, we once again draw the attention of French citizens, especially those passing through, to the fact that direct and connecting commercial flights to France are still available,” stated the ministry.
Meanwhile, Canada has told its citizens to avoid all travel to Israel. “The security situation could deteriorate further without warning,” the Canadian government said in a travel advisory.
Rising tensions have also forced major airlines, including Dutch airline KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Swiss Airlines, to suspend their flights to Israel, Iran and Lebanon.
“Many Lebanese are immigrants and some came for summer holidays,” said Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Beirut. “With many airlines canceling and grounding flights, people will want to leave as quickly as possible before retaliation begins.”
He said the Lebanese Prime Minister had already declared that the country had the right to retaliate against any aggression.
“Lebanon is a country currently without a president, an interim prime minister. Like the disruption at the airport, there is a disruption in governance in this country. That’s why we don’t see many government officials talking and reacting.”
On Sunday morning, a barrage of more than 50 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel. Explosions were seen in the Upper Galilee area as Israel deployed its missile defense system to intercept the rockets.
The rocket attacks came after Israel struck several areas in southern Lebanon overnight, official Lebanese media reported on Sunday.
“Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of the Al Mahmudiyah area, followed by a second airstrike east of Kafr Rumman,” the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
Iran said on Saturday it expects Hezbollah to reach deeper into Israel and no longer be confined to military targets.
Meanwhile, Israel bombed tents housing displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, killing at least three people and wounding 18 others. The attack came hours after an attack on a school turned into a shelter in Gaza City killed 17 people.
At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed and 91,280 others injured in Israel’s war in the besieged and bombed enclave.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
