1 month ago
Last Updated: August 01, 2024, 08:38 IST
A view shows damage after what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon. (Image: Reuters)
The Indian Embassy in Beirut has asked Indians in Lebanon to "exercise caution, restrict their movement and remain in contact with the Embassy."
Several countries have asked their citizens to avoid travelling to Lebanon a day after a Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike. India, Australia and Canada are among countries who have asked citizens to not travel to Lebanon amid escalating tensions.
The Indian Embassy in Beirut has asked Indians in Lebanon to “exercise caution, restrict their movement and remain in contact with the Embassy.”
Australia Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong warned all Australians in Beirut to “leave immediately”. In a statement, Wong said tensions in the region may “escalate quickly” leading to Beirut airport to shut down, in which case, the government won’t be able to help citizens leave.
Canada, too, urged its citizens to “come back home” if they were in Lebanon, and to “not think about visiting Beirut.”
To Canadian citizens and permanent residents,If you’re in and thinking about visiting Lebanon— don’t. If you are in Lebanon, come back home.
If tensions escalate, the situation on the ground may not allow us to help you and you won’t be able to leave.
Plan accordingly.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) July 31, 2024
Israel-Hezbollah Tensions
Israel’s military announced late on Tuesday it had killed Shukr, whom it named as Hezbollah’s most senior commander and whom it blamed for an attack on July 27 that left a dozen youngsters dead in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah said that its secretary general Hassan Nasrallah would speak on Thursday on the occasion of Shukr’s funeral.
Lebanese ministers and lawmakers visited the scene on Wednesday. Speaking from the ruins, Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar condemned the strike on Dahiyeh as well as the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has made no comment on Haniyeh’s assassination.
“This enemy (Israel) demands war and we are up for it, God willing, we are up for it,” Ammar said.
Lebanon’s cabinet held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the strike on Beirut and issued a statement read to reporters by Information Minister Ziad Makary.
Makary condemned the strike and said retaliation by Hezbollah was anticipated but that the government was worried the situation could “spiral”.
“Lebanon does not want war,” he said, adding that the government would engage in diplomatic efforts to calm tensions.
(With inputs from agencies)
