The US, UK, and France have issued a travel advisory requesting its citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon or leave the country immediately.
US airlines Delta and United have announced the suspension of flights to Israel amid “security concerns” following the assassination of Hamas’ politburo chief in Iran on Wednesday.
Delta said flights between New York and Tel Aviv “will be paused through Friday, Aug. 2, due to ongoing conflict in the region.”
The airline added that it was “continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports and will communicate any updates as needed.”
United Airlines said “we are suspending for security reasons our daily Tel Aviv service as we evaluate our next steps,” adding that it continued to “closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on resuming service with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews.”
The Times of Israel predicted that the cancellations by United and Delta, “respectively the second-and third-largest airlines in the world, could spark a wave of cancellations by other airlines.”
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Travel Advisories
Meanwhile, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France have issued a travel advisory requesting their citizens to avoid traveling to Lebanon or leave the country immediately.
The US embassy in Beirut said,“On July 31, we updated the Travel Advisory for Lebanon to Level 4: Do Not Travel for the entire country.”
“If you are in Lebanon, be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate. The U.S. Embassy strongly encourages U.S. citizens who are already in Southern Lebanon, near the borders with Syria, and/or in refugee settlements to depart,” the embassy stated on its website.
It advised citizens to “have a plan of action for crisis situations that does not rely on US government assistance.”
‘Encouraged to Leave’
The US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs in a Travel Advisory dated July 31, 2024, stated: “Do Not Travel to Lebanon due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. If you are in Lebanon, be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate.”
The UK government stated on its website that the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) “advises against all travel to Lebanon.”
The advisory was “Still current at: 1 August 2024.”
“FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Lebanon. If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave, while commercial options remain available,” the website stated.
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‘Military Escalation’
France has also warned its citizens against traveling to Lebanon, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian Territories amid risks of “military escalation,” according to the Anadolu news agency.
It cited the French Foreign Ministry as stating on its website that “Due to risks of military escalation in the Middle East, citizens are strictly advised … against traveling to Israel and the Palestinian Territories ….”
The Ministry also warned French nationals against traveling to Lebanon, including for touristic and familial purposes.
The Israeli military struck southern Beirut on Tuesday, killing senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr.
Hours later, an attack in Tehran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the strike that also killed Haniyeh’s bodyguard.
Lufthansa Flight Rerouted
Earlier on Thursday, a Lufthansa flight captain refused to land in Israel amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, Anadolu reported, citing Israeli media.
It said the flight was scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv from Munich, Germany, but the captain refused, saying his crew were not prepared to fly to Israel, according to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
Instead, the flight landed at Larnaca Airport in the Greek Cypriot Administration.
The airline initially informed passengers that the plane would land in the Greek Cypriot Administration for “technical reasons” and then it would be decided whether the flight would continue to Tel Aviv.
The Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that the airline said the flight “which landed in Cyprus” on Thursday morning, “returned to Germany ‘as a precautionary measure due to security activity.’”
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Ongoing Genocide
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 39,480 Palestinians have been killed, and 91,128 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocidal assault on the Strip which began last October. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes.
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, on October 7, Hezbollah has engaged directly, but relatively in a limited way in the war against the Israeli occupation.
In recent weeks, however, the intensity of the fighting has increased, leading to concerns that an all-out war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army is imminent.
Israel has occupied parts of Lebanon for decades and has only left the country in 2000, following stiff Lebanese resistance under Hezbollah’s leadership.
In 2006, it attempted to re-occupy Lebanon but failed in what Beirut considers a major victory against Israel.
Israel, however, continues to occupy parts of Lebanon, namely the Sheeba Farms region.
Hezbollah has vowed to recover every inch of Lebanon that has been occupied by Israel contrary to international law.
(PC, Anadolu)
