WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As tensions mount in the Middle East following high-profile assassinations blamed on Israel, several countries have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon.
Threats of retaliation from Iran for the killing of key leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, and escalation of Hezbollah-Israel hostilities around Israeli-Lebanese border are feared to worsen to another full-fledged war in the region.
The assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Iran-backed Hezbollah's senior military commander Fuad Shukri in Beirut last week, are blamed on Israel.
Iran has vowed to retaliate for the killings.
The United States, U.K., France, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Jordan were among the latest governments to call for their citizens to leave Lebanon.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut has raised its Travel Advisory to Level 4, 'Do Not Travel,' due to rising tensions between Hizballah and Israel.
The Embassy strongly urged U.S. citizens who are already in Southern Lebanon, near the borders with Syria, and/or in refugee settlements, to depart.
'The New Zealand Government urges New Zealanders in Lebanon and Iran to leave now while options remain available. We also recommend New Zealanders in Israel consider whether they need to remain in the country,' New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters wrote on X.
U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office urged all British nationals to leave Lebanon, while commercial routes are still available.
The British Embassy in Beirut has temporarily withdrawn the families of officials working there, and deployed additional consular officials, Border Force and UK military personnel to the region.
Several Western airlines, including Lufthansa and Qatar Airways, have suspended flights to Lebanon and other airports in the region.
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