Western citizens urged to leave Lebanon
Stockholm, July 30 (Hibya) - Travel warnings were issued as US diplomatic efforts reportedly focused on limiting Israel's response by urging it not to target densely populated Beirut.
The governments of Britain, Germany, France and the United States on Monday issued travel warnings to their citizens urging them to leave Lebanon or avoid traveling there as a feverish diplomatic effort continues to dissuade Israel from striking Beirut in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said events were “developing rapidly” and advised British citizens to “leave Lebanon and not travel to the country.”
In its travel guidance, the UK Foreign Office warned that regional events could escalate with “little warning” and that trade routes out of Lebanon could be severely disrupted. “Do not rely on the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] to evacuate you in an emergency,” it added.
Rena Bitter, assistant secretary for consular affairs at the US embassy in Beirut, told Americans in Lebanon in a video posted on X to “create a crisis action plan and leave the country before the crisis begins.”
Some flights to and from Beirut's international airport were cancelled this week, with Jordan's Royal Jordanian airline becoming the latest to suspend flights on Monday until at least Tuesday.
Washington is racing to prevent a full-blown war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah following the weekend attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan that killed 12 teenagers. Israel and the United States have blamed Hezbollah for the rocket attack, but Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
The United States is reportedly focusing its high-speed diplomacy on limiting Israel's response, urging densely populated Beirut not to target the southern suburbs of the city, where Hezbollah is based, or key infrastructure such as airports and bridges.
Albania News Agency