In a sign that things could get worse in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly is suggesting that Canadian nationals in Lebanon leave the country “while commercial flights are still available.”
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“As the crisis in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel continues, the security situation in the region is becoming increasingly volatile,” she wrote in a tweet on X on Monday.
There are currently 14,500 Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Lebanon.
The Land of the Cedars shares its approximately 130-kilometer-long southern border with Israel.
This border has been the scene of fire and rocket attacks between Hezbollah, an Islamist armed organization based in Lebanon, and the Israeli armed forces.
These exchanges gained strength on Sunday and continued on Monday, raising fears of an escalation between the two countries and a spillover of the conflict across the region.
Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the deaths of five Canadians since the Hamas attack on Israel.