The United States on Tuesday authorized the departure of non-essential personnel and their families from its embassy in Beirut amid deteriorating security conditions in Lebanon as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas.
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At the same time, the United States raised the alert level of its travel warning from 3 to 4 (the highest level) and advised all American nationals not to travel to Lebanon.
This announcement replaces an earlier press release dated July 13th.
“Do not travel to Lebanon as the security situation is unpredictable in relation to rocket, missile and artillery fire between Israel and Hezbollah or other militant armed groups,” the State Department said in a statement released in the evening.
There have been clashes on the border in recent days between Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, and the Israeli army.
Hezbollah also called for a “Day of Rage” to be observed on Wednesday to condemn a deadly shooting at a hospital in the Gaza Strip, a “massacre” it blames on Israel.
Hezbollah’s call came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in Awkar, a northern suburb of the capital Beirut, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, according to AFP correspondents.
Since the start of the war, which was triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7, around twenty people have been killed on the Lebanese side in clashes on the Israel-Lebanese border, mostly fighters, but also a journalist the Portal agency and two civilians. At least three people were killed on the Israeli side.