France, US warn against Lebanon travel, joining Western states

The State Department has raised the travel advisory for Lebanon, urging people not to travel to the country “due to the unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah or other armed militant factions.”

The advisory issued on Tuesday also urged people to reconsider travel to Lebanon “due to terrorism, civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, kidnapping” and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens. The State Department authorized the voluntary, temporary departure of family members of U.S. government personnel and some non-emergency personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut due to the unpredictable security situation in Lebanon.

The advisory was hiked to Level 4, “Do not travel” — the highest level — from Level 3, “Reconsider travel.”

The United States also authorized non-essential personnel and their families to leave their embassy near Beirut, citing the unpredictable security situation in Lebanon due to the Israel-Hamas war.

Hundreds of demonstrators scuffled Tuesday night with Lebanese security forces outside the U.S. embassy in the Beirut suburb of Awkar, where protesters chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," following a strike on a Gaza Strip hospital, that killed at least 500 people, provoking outrage and condemnation from around the world, with protests on the streets of Amman, Tunis, Beirut and Tehran.

France has also urged its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon, while several Western airlines have suspended flights.

"Given security tensions in the region and particularly on Lebanon's southern border, French travellers planning a trip to Lebanon are not advised to go there," the French foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

Britain's foreign office has told its nationals in Lebanon to "consider whether you need to remain and, if not, leave by commercial means while they are still available."

Canada, Spain, Germany and Australia have also issued travel warnings.

Swiss International Air Lines said Monday it was suspending flights between Switzerland and Beirut initially until October 28 due to unrest on the border.

Germany's Lufthansa has suspended flights until October 22, the airline's website says.

Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier, relocated five of its 24 planes to the Istanbul airport as a temporary "pre-emptive step" in light of regional developments, it said Monday.