The United States Embassy in Beirut has urged Americans to leave Lebanon with immediate effect while the commercial flights “remain available”, terming the security situation in the country “volatile and unpredictable”.
This advisory, issued by the US Embassy in Beirut, comes hours after Hezbollah launched an attack of rockets and drones against Israel. Israel retaliated, killing at least 31 people, while 149 were wounded, as per Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
The statement issued by the Department of State urged US citizens to leave Lebanon “immediately, while the commercial flights are available”.
“Airstrikes have occurred throughout the country, especially in the South, the Beqaa, and parts of Beirut,” The advisory read, “We urge the US citizens to not travel to Lebanon.”
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The advisory further reads that the US citizens who choose not to leave should prepare contingency plans for emergencies and be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate further. “These alternative plans should not rely on the US government for assisted departure or evacuation,” the advisory reads. “All consular services have been suspended till further notice, and the US embassy cannot currently provide any assistance to US citizens in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant outfit, had launched rockets and drones into Israeli territory on Monday, without a state consultation, directly undercutting the government’s declared policy of avoiding any regional escalation.
Hezbollah has said that the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. The group, with strong Iran ties, has said that the attack was in “defence of Lebanon and its people” and “in response to repeated Israeli agressions”
Following the ‘retaliatory’ attacks by Israel, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nawaf Salam, issued a statement which said that Hezbollah’s military and security activities were banned. “We announce a ban on Hezbollah’s military activities and restrict its role to the political sphere,” Nawaf has been quoted as saying by various media outlets. “We declare our rejection of any military or security operations launched from the Lebanese territory outside the framework of the legitimate institutions.”
Nawaf called all Hezbollah activities “illegal” and called upon the security forces to “prevent any attacks originating from the Lebanese territory”. He said that Lebanon declares its commitment to the cessation of hostilities and resumption of negotiations.
Among the 31 people killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, an Intelligence official, Hussein Mokalleh, has also been killed in a strike near Beirut, the Israeli authorities have said.
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