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The British government on Saturday urged U.K. nationals in Lebanon to leave the country immediately amid growing fears of a regional war after the killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week, attributed to Israel.
“Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly. While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear — leave now,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
The U.S. embassy in Beirut also issued a security alert on Saturday to encourage American citizens in the country “to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route.”
Airlines have increasingly been suspending flights to and from Beirut in response to the rising tensions.
“Commercial transportation options to leave Lebanon remain available,” the U.S. embassy stressed, also recommending to those who choose to stay to “prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period of time.”
Israel’s retaliatory airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, which killed a top commander of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, sparked concerns that all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah could break out.
The conflict with Israel had entered a “new phase,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Thursday, pledging that “the response will come, whether spread out or simultaneously.”
In Sweden, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström on Saturday shut down the Swedish embassy in Beirut, calling on all Swedes to leave the country as soon as possible, noting that assistance to expats will become increasingly difficult.
“The foreign ministry has instructed its staff to leave Beirut and travel to Cyprus, and the foreign ministry is planning a temporary relocation of its embassy,” Billström told public broadcaster SR.
