The news
The US, the UK, Australia, Sweden, France, Italy, Canada, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Jordan warnings issued to citizens to leave Lebanon; the UK has also deployed experts and military personnel to help with a potential evacuation in case a war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah broke out there.
Several airlines have already canceled flights to and from Beirut, Lebanon’s only commercial airport, complicating any exit strategy.
While many experts agree on a war would not be in anyone’s favor, tensions in the region reached a new peak after Israel attacked Beirut last week, killing a senior Hezbollah leader blamed for an earlier deadly attack in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Hamas’s top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was also killed in an attack in Tehran; Israel has not claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
Iran has promised “severe” retaliation against Israel after Tehran’s attack, and Western officials believe it could use Hezbollah – one of several military proxies Iran has in the region – in any counterattack.
