The State Department raised the travel warning on Lebanon on Wednesday to Level 4: Do Not Travel, which urges Americans already in the country to prepare to shelter in place in case the situation there gets worse.
The warning comes after Israel launched an attack into Beirut on Tuesday, in retaliation for Hezbollah's attack on Israel over the weekend that killed at least 12 children. Iran has also threatened to attack Israel, after it fired on Tehran and killed a Hamas leader.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut encouraged Americans to evacuate the country if possible, especially those near the border with Syria, and in refugee camps, according to The Hill.
“Do Not Travel to Lebanon due to rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. If you are in Lebanon, be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate,” the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy also warned Americans still in Lebanon not to expect a U.S. military-assisted evacuation plan.
“U.S. military-assisted evacuations of civilians from a foreign country are rare. There is no guarantee the U.S. government will evacuate private U.S. citizens and their family members in a crisis situation," the embassy said. “In the event that a U.S. military-assisted evacuation does occur, our focus will be on helping U.S. citizens. Please ensure that you have valid travel documents to facilitate travel out of Lebanon and into a safe third country location.”
The embassy noted that commercial flights are still available, but United and Delta have cancelled their flights to Israel for the time being, because of heightened tension in the Middle East, according to the Times of Israel.
