US, Russia Issue Travel Advisories to Lebanon

Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR
Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR
TT

US, Russia Issue Travel Advisories to Lebanon

Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR
Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR

The US embassy in Beirut issued a travel advisory on Thursday urging “US citizens to strongly reconsider travel to Lebanon”, citing a “complex security environment”.
“We remind US citizens to strongly reconsider travel to Lebanon. The security environment remains complex and can change quickly”, the embassy said on its website.
Russia’s embassy in Beirut has also called on its citizens to refrain from traveling to Lebanon until the situation settles down in the southern part of the country.
Earlier, several Arab and Western countries issued travel advisories calling on their citizens to refrain from traveling to the Mediterranean country.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily cross-border fire since the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.
Tensions have been rising in recent days with growing exchanges of fire.



Celebrations Erupt in Lebanon over Gaza Ceasefire

A torn Palestinian flag flutters at the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A torn Palestinian flag flutters at the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
TT

Celebrations Erupt in Lebanon over Gaza Ceasefire

A torn Palestinian flag flutters at the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A torn Palestinian flag flutters at the Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Celebrations erupted in several areas in Lebanon following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Many people flooded the streets in Palestinian refugee camps, as well as cities like Sidon in the south, Tripoli in the north and Beirut’s southern suburbs. People marched or rode motorcycles, honking in celebration while waving Hamas flags.
In some areas, nonstop shooting and fireworks rang out. Images circulated on social media showing several people wounded, with at least one killed, by stray bullets.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has strong ties to Hamas and had opened a support front on the day after Hamas’s attack Oct. 7, 2023, on Israel. This led to a 14-month war between Hezbollah and Israel, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on Nov. 27.
Hezbollah has not commented on the Gaza ceasefire.