France on Sunday called on its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country “as soon as possible” due to concerns about a potential full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as a possible broader regional conflict.
“In a highly volatile security context, we once again call the attention of French nationals, particularly those passing through, to the fact that direct commercial flights and ones with stopovers to France are still available, and we invite them to make their arrangements now to leave Lebanon as soon as possible,” the foreign ministry said in its travel advice notice for Lebanon.
Paris is now advising its citizens to leave Lebanon, following the lead of Washington and London. France estimates around 23,000 of its citizens live in Lebanon, with about 10,000 visiting last month. Sweden has also closed its embassy in Beirut and urged its nationals to leave.
French foreign ministry
On Thursday, the French foreign ministry updated its information sheet to emphasize that commercial flights to France remain available, but it stopped short of advising nationals to leave Lebanon.
On Sunday, the ministry urgently advised French nationals against traveling to Lebanon due to concerns of escalating regional conflict. This warning follows threats from Iran and its allies to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas’s political leader. Additionally, Israel is accused of orchestrating.
Haniyeh was killed a day after a strike claimed by Israel killed Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr near Beirut.
On Saturday, Hezbollah announced that it had fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at Israel, claiming the attack was a retaliation for Israeli assaults on Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is at “a very high level” of preparedness for any scenario — “defensive and offensive.”
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