Foreign citizens urged to leave Lebanon as conflict escalates

International governments are also revising travel advice for Israel

There are fears Israel could strike deep into Lebanon as tensions in the region continue to mount. AP

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Several countries have renewed or revised travel warnings for Lebanon and Israel, urging their citizens to leave as soon as possible.

The updated recommendations – including from France and the US – come as Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah stand on the brink of a large-scale war, days after a senior commander in the group was killed in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran.

There are fears an Israeli attack could be significantly more damaging in the coming days, as both sides raise the stakes in a tit-for-tat exchange of fire that began on October 8.

On Sunday morning, Israeli media reported about 50 rockets were launched at northern Israel overnight.

Online footage showed the Iron Dome defence system intercepting several missiles over the north.

Hezbollah later confirmed the barrage was in response to the “attacks of the villages of Kafr Kila and Deir Saryan and the injury of civilians".

The French Foreign Ministry on Sunday advised its citizens to leave Lebanon while flights are available.

Those planning to visit Lebanon should not travel "in light of the risk of military escalation", it said.

Australia advised citizens to leave Lebanon immediately while commercial flights are available.

"Please take whatever option is available. This may not be a direct route," said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Jordan has said citizens in Lebanon must leave as soon as possible and advised against travel to the country.

Canada urged against all travel to Israel, saying Israel's airspace may close and security may deteriorate "without warning”.

The US told citizens to leave the country by any flight available, on X on Saturday.

“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,” the post read.

"What we're trying to do is prepare for- for any eventuality, any possibility. That's only responsible for the United States," White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said in an interview with CBS.

"This is no prediction about future events. It is prudent planning for them and for our government," he added.

The recommendations are another blow to the already beleaguered Lebanese economy, which has been hit hard by the Gaza war after floundering for years amid a sharp financial crisis, blamed on government mismanagement.

Pierre Achkar, president of the Hotel Owners’ Syndicate, said foreign embassies' warnings and the threat of imminent war are severely impacting tourism.

“War is the number-one enemy of tourism,” he said. He added that a 40 per cent drop in restaurant revenue has been recorded in Lebanon year on year, with a 60 per cent decline for hotels.

Even the diaspora, which traditionally maintains strong ties with the country, “cannot compensate for the entire country's losses”.

Lebanon had hoped tourism would provide much-needed economic support, as it contributed 26 per cent of foreign revenue in 2022.

“Calls from embassies only add to our despair,” Mr Achkar said. Fewer countries are revising travel advice for Israel, which is much less dependent on tourism, although its travel sector has also been hit hard, in addition to port revenue losses due to the Gaza war and the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea.

In addition to Canada's recent warning, Sweden and Slovenia last week advised citizens not to travel to Israel and Israeli-occupied territories.

A multi-front strike on Israel could happen as early as Monday, news website Axios reported, citing US and Israeli sources.

Israel, with significant help from a coalition of allies, largely defended itself against an Iranian wave of attacks in April, comprising hundreds of drones and missiles.

There are fears Tehran and its proxies in the region will strive to inflict more damage with a potential strike.

Axios also reported the Biden administration could find it more difficult to resurrect the same coalition of allies that defended Israel in April.

Israeli civilian and military officials, meanwhile, are saying their country is prepared for the expected conflict.

Gen Rafael Milo, head of the Home Front Command, held a meeting with military leaders on Saturday, including an "in-depth discussion on the current situation", the army wrote on X.

The command said it will put emphasis on dialogue with the public and "preparing the population to deal with emergency situations".

"We are determined to continue fighting until we fundamentally change the security situation in the north and we can return the residents of the north home," said Gen Milo.

"We are preparing and ready for any scenario and any response."