Cairo, Aug 4 (EFE).- Several countries on Sunday urged their nationals to leave Lebanon “as soon as possible” amid growing fears of a wider conflict involving Israel, Iran, and Lebanon, following recent attacks that killed senior Hamas and Hezbollah officials in Tehran and Beirut.
France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Jordan, and others have advised their citizens to leave the country in anticipation of possible retaliatory attacks by Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah against Israel.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked its citizens to arrange travel urgently due to “a highly volatile” security situation in the region, reminding them that commercial flights to France are “still available.”
The UK similarly urged its nationals in Lebanon to “leave now” on available flights, warning that “the situation could deteriorate rapidly.”
Other Western countries, including Canada, Australia, and Sweden, have also asked citizens to evacuate Lebanon, which has only one airport for commercial flights, located in the capital.
Jordan is the only Arab country to request its nationals leave Lebanon, warning that an escalation could significantly affect its own territory, situated between Israel and Iran.
The United States embassy in Beirut encouraged citizens “who wish” to leave to book “any ticket available” to depart the country.
Other countries, such as Argentina and Hungary, have issued travel advisories asking citizens to avoid visiting Lebanon.
In recent days, several airlines have suspended or delayed flights to and from Lebanon due to rising tensions, following an Israeli bombing in Beirut on Tuesday that killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, and the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran the following day.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has threatened retaliation against Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination, and Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed a forceful response to Israel for the strike in Beirut.
Iran is allegedly leading the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” a regional anti-Israel militia coalition that includes Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, and militia groups in Syria and Iraq. EFE
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