US urges citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, Germany warns of dire consequences

On September 21, the US State Department warned that clashes between Hezbollah and Israel had killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, and urged citizens to leave Lebanon while commercial flights were still operating.

Smoke rises from the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border fighting between Hezbollah forces and Israeli troops, September 20. (Source: Reuters)

In a statement on September 21, the U.S. State Department said: "Due to the unpredictable nature of the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, as well as recent explosions across Lebanon, including Beirut, the U.S. Embassy urges citizens to leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still operating."

The statement emphasized that American citizens should "immediately" leave southern Lebanon, as well as areas near the Syrian border and refugee settlements.

In late July 2024, the US raised its travel advisory to Lebanon to level 4 – the highest level – "Do not travel ," following an Israeli airstrike south of Beirut that killed a senior Hezbollah commander.

On September 20, Israel announced it had carried out an airstrike south of Beirut, killing a commander and several other high-ranking Hezbollah figures in Lebanon. Hezbollah confirmed that Commander Ibrahim Aqil, head of the Radwan Force and deputy commander of the armed forces, was killed in the airstrike.

Earlier, on September 17 and 18, a series of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in several locations in Lebanon, killing at least 37 people and injuring around 3,000, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon.

In recent days, Israel has expanded its military operational targets, with the focus of the conflict shifting from the Gaza Strip to northern Israel.

The Hezbollah movement in Lebanon and Israeli forces have clashed almost daily for more than 11 months amid the conflict in the Gaza Strip. These clashes have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon and dozens on the Israeli side, and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

Regarding the conflict situation in the Middle East, on the same day, September 21, the German Foreign Ministry emphasized the need for measures to de-escalate tensions in the region as the Hamas-Israel conflict in Gaza threatens to spill over into Lebanon.

In a statement on social media platform X, the German Foreign Ministry stated: "We urgently need concrete measures in the Middle East to de-escalate the situation and avoid further civilian casualties."

The statement added that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had contacted her Israeli and Lebanese counterparts to discuss the next steps.

Meanwhile, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the country was "deeply concerned" about the recent escalation in the Middle East and that "a diplomatic solution to the conflict must be possible."

The office of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz warned that a full-scale conflict would "have terrible and lasting consequences for people across the region," leading to "catastrophic" devastation.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/my-keu-goi-cong-dan-ngay-lap-tuc-roi-khoi-lebanon-duc-canh-bao-hau-qua-tham-khoc-287237.html