Arab and Western nations have intensified their calls for their citizens to leave Lebanon as some airlines announce the suspension of their flights amid fears of a full-scale war involving Israel, the Lebanese "Hezbollah," and Iran.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised its citizens against traveling to Lebanon at this time, citing safety concerns, and has requested that its nationals residing or currently in Lebanon leave as soon as possible.
Similarly, the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon has urged its citizens wanting to depart to book "any available ticket" and to contact the embassy if they lack the funds to return to the United States.
The British government has also urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately, while the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström announced the suspension of his country's embassy operations in Beirut, advising its staff to move to Cyprus.
The Czech Embassy in Beirut has announced on its website a "temporary closure of its consular section."
The assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau in Tehran, and Hezbollah leader Fouad Shukr following an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, have raised significant fears of a major escalation that could lead to a regional war.
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