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Flights Suspended, Countries Urge Citizens to Leave Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights
Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights
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Flights Suspended, Countries Urge Citizens to Leave Lebanon amid Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights
Civil defense members and people gather near a site hit by what security sources said was a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir Purchase Licensing Rights

The United States on Wednesday raised its travel advisory on Lebanon to its highest "do not travel" classification, citing rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah after a strike on southern Beirut killed a top commander of the armed group.

"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 advisory said, adding that citizens in southern Lebanon or in refugee settlements should leave.

Switzerland also urged its nationals to leave Lebanon, noting the highly volatile situation in the country.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group said Wednesday that senior military commander Fuad Shukr was inside a south Beirut building hit by Israel the previous day but said his fate remained unknown.

For its part, Australia has asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, saying there was a real risk that the tensions between Israel and militant group Hezbollah could escalate seriously. The request follows similar advisory by Britain this week.

"Now is the time to leave, the security situation could deteriorate quickly with little or no notice," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a video posted on social media platform X late on Wednesday.

Wong said Beirut airport could shut down completely if the situation worsens, potentially stranding people wishing to leave for "an extended period" and urged Australians to use commercial flights while they operate.

Meanwhile, Air France and low-cost carrier Transavia France said Wednesday their flights between Paris and Beirut would remain suspended till the weekend due to the "security situation" in Lebanon.

The two airlines had planned to resume flights on Wednesday, but said they will now remain grounded until Saturday.

"The resumption of operations will be subject to a new assessment of the local situation," an Air France statement said.

Both carriers stopped servicing the route on Monday, a day after Israel vowed to retaliate following rocket fire it blamed on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that killed 12 people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

The rocket attack on the Golan sparked fears that fighting between Hezbollah and Israel would escalate.

When those fears subsided somewhat they announced on Tuesday that flights would resume on Wednesday.

But as Israel then struck the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut on Tuesday evening, targeting a senior commander it blamed for the rocket strike on the Golan Heights.

Hezbollah said Wednesday the commander was inside the building hit by Israel but that his fate remained unknown.

German carrier Lufthansa has suspended flights until August 5.

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Arab World

Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 15 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."