US, UK urge their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately amid heightening tensions

The United States and the United Kingdom have issued warnings to their nationals to leave Lebanon immediately as fears are growing over a full-blown war between Israel and the Hezbollah resistance movement amid an exchange of deadly fire between the two sides.

On Saturday, the US Embassy in Beirut said that some flights by several airlines have been canceled but “commercial transportation options to leave Lebanon remain available.”

“We encourage those who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route,” it said in a statement.

“US citizens who lack funds to return to the US may contact the embassy for financial assistance via repatriation loans,” it added.

It urged those who decide to remain to “prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period of time.”

The UK embassy also emphasized that “the UK continues to advise against all travel to Lebanon and advises British nationals still in the country to leave now while commercial options remain available.”

“Consular experts will assist with strategic planning and responding to inquiries from British nationals to make sure they get the help and advice they need, and Border Force has deployed officers who stand ready to aid consular operations,” it added.

Hezbollah responds to deadly Israeli attack with dozens of rockets

Hezbollah retaliates against a deadly Israeli attack on southern Lebanon by firing dozens of rockets towards the northern side of the occupied Palestinian territories.

The embassy noted that it sent officials to West Asia, including Lebanon, to provide additional support to its staff “as part of government’s preparatory planning for a range of possible conflict scenarios, and with regional tensions rising.”

Earlier this week, the Indian embassy in Beirut also asked Indian nationals to leave the West Asian country as soon as possible.

“In view of the recent escalations in the region, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Lebanon,” the embassy said in a statement.

Fears of a regional war grew after the assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Hamas resistance movement, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31.

Haniyeh’s assassination also triggered vows of vengeance from Iran and resistance groups.

It came just hours after Israel killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut.

On Thursday, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah promised a “genuine and substantial” response to Shukr’s assassination, asserting that confrontation with Israel has “entered a new phase, transitioning from merely supporting Gaza to an open major battle.”

Egypt voices support for Lebanon in confronting Israeli threats

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has expressed his Northeast African country’s support to Lebanon in confronting Israeli threats surrounding it.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging deadly fire since early October last year, shortly after the regime launched a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group.

The Lebanese resistance movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks as long as the Israeli regime continues its Gaza war, which has so far killed at least 39,550 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.

Hezbollah officials have repeatedly said they do not want a war with Israel while stressing that they are prepared in case it occurs.

Two Israeli wars waged against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006 were met with strong resistance from Hezbollah, resulting in the retreat of the regime in both conflicts.

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