US Embassy Implores Americans To Leave Lebanon On 'Any Ticket Available'
The US embassy in Lebanon has issued an alert warning American citizens to exit Lebanon on "any ticket available" as the likelihood of a major war between Israel and Hezbollah as well as Iran grows.
A series of international and Western airlines have suspended service to the region as a the specter of all-out war looms. The embassy said that though there have been service stoppages and cancellations, "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," the embassy stated.
Starting in late June, Biden's special envoy Amos Hochstein warned the Lebanese government, "The US won’t be able to hold Israel back if the situation on the border continues to escalate and that Hezbollah needs to indirectly negotiate with Israel instead of ratcheting up tensions."
Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah has warned of a "new phase" in the war following an Israeli airstrike targeting and killing his top military chief Fuad Shukr this week.
Iran has already signaled what this will look like, with its Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Saturday saying in a statement to CBS that the group is expected to strike deeper inside Israel and that it will no longer confine itself to military targets.
The Iranian statement outlined that so far Hezbollah has limited itself according to an "unwritten understanding" or status quo engagement with Israel "confining their actions to border areas and shallow zones, targeting primarily military objectives."
"However, the [Israeli] regime’s attack on the Dahieh [neighborhood] in Beirut and the targeting of a residential building marked a deviation from these boundaries," the statement added.
"We anticipate that, in its response, Hezbollah will choose both broader and deeper targets, and will not restrict itself solely to military targets and means," the spokesperson emphasized.
The Department of State has raised its Lebanon Travel Advisory from Level 3: Reconsider Travel to Level 4: Do Not Travel. We recommend that U.S. citizens enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts. https://t.co/vE02vvquJg pic.twitter.com/7baXCRN5oV
— U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) July 31, 2024
If the situation begins to spiral, it is likely the US military will use its significant naval assets in the Mediterranean to begin evacuating American nationals from Lebanon. Often the first place Israel bombs is Beirut's lone international airport.
On Friday night US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered additional navy cruisers, destroyers and a fighter squadron to deploy to the Middle East.
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