China urged its citizens to leave Lebanon "as soon as possible", the embassy said in a statement from today - a day after an Israeli strike killed a military leader of "Fatah" in the country, France Press reported, BTA reported.
"Recently, the situation on the border between Lebanon and Israel continues to be tense, and the security conditions in Lebanon are serious and complicated," wrote the Chinese diplomatic mission in Beirut. "The current level of travel risk in southern Lebanon and Nabatia is red (extremely high risk) and in other areas (of the country) is orange (high risk)," the embassy said. The statement advised Chinese nationals currently in Lebanon to "use the opportunity while there are still scheduled passenger flights to return to China or leave the country as soon as possible.
Israel stepped up its strikes in neighboring Lebanon, yesterday killing a Palestinian military leader of the "Fatah" for the first time since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip. The movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of using “assassination“ of Khalil al-Maqda to "set the region on fire," just as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wrapped up his latest tour of the Middle East with no reported breakthrough in talks to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal.
In recent weeks, many countries have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon, where Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, is based. So far, the Chinese embassy has only urged its citizens to "exercise caution" if traveling to Lebanon.
Prompted by the unprecedented attack by "Hamas" against Israel on October 7, the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the Palestinian territory, home to about 2.4 million people. On October 8, "Hezbollah" opened a front against Israel on the border with Lebanon, notes AFP.