Several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and others, are urging their citizens to evacuate Lebanon as soon as possible. They are concerned that due to a series of recent events in the Middle East, a larger-scale conflict may be imminent.
As of Sunday, several countries including the US, UK, France, Australia, Sweden, Italy, Canada, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan have issued advisories urging their citizens to leave Lebanon promptly.
The US Embassy in Lebanon has urged American citizens to book “any available plane tickets.” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has also advised their citizens to “leave now.”
Meanwhile, in response to increasing travel warnings issued by various countries for the region, airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, and Kuwaiti Airlines have canceled flights to and from Lebanon, while other airlines have rerouted flights away from the country.
As these countries issue these warnings, a larger conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, along with their allies Iran and Hamas, appears to be on the brink of escalation.
The latest round of conflict began with an attack on an Israeli soccer field on July 27, resulting in the deaths of 12 children and teenagers, prompting Israeli retaliation. Although Hezbollah denies responsibility for the attack, Israel and the US have indicated that signs point to this being orchestrated by the Iran-backed radical group. In response, on July 30, Israel bombed the Lebanese capital of Beirut, killing senior Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.
Hours later, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran, where he had just attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Haniyeh was a key planner of the October 7th Hamas raid on Israel last year, which sparked the nearly ten-month-long conflict in Gaza.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination, nor has it denied involvement. However, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation, stating that Israel will face “severe punishment” for the assassination.
The situation has raised concerns that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could escalate into a larger Middle East conflict.
On Saturday night, Hezbollah fired around 30 rockets, most of which were intercepted by Israel.
The US and other Western countries are worried that retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon could provoke a strong response from Israel, and are therefore continuing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region while actively preparing for potential escalation in the coming conflict.