The government of Canada on Tuesday called on its nationals to leave Lebanon as quickly as possible, “while they can”, where fears of an escalation of violence on its southern border, between Hezbollah and Israel, are growing. more and more vivid.
“It is time to leave, while trade options are still available,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement.
“The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to sustained and growing violence between Hezbollah and Israel,” she warns.
Addressing Canadians in Lebanon, the minister said: “If the armed conflict escalates, this could impact your ability to leave the country and our ability to provide you with consular services,” recalling that Canada does not offers no assistance in leaving the territory.
The war in Gaza, triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, has led to an increase in clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which had already been fought in 2006. .
Exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah, a powerful Islamist movement allied with Hamas, armed and financed by Iran, have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of residents of the border areas of southern Lebanon and the northern Israel.
More than eight months of violence between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have left at least 481 dead in Lebanon, including a majority of Hezbollah fighters and 94 civilians, according to an AFP count.
On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians were killed, according to Israel.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that “after the end of the intense phase” in the Gaza Strip, the army will be “able to redeploy some forces towards the north”, near the border with Lebanon , adding to fears of an extension of the conflict.
Strikes hit Lebanon on Monday, according to the official Lebanese press agency, with Hezbollah announcing for its part that it had targeted three Israeli military sites on the other side of the border.
International responses
The United States warned on Tuesday that a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could trigger a regional war and warned of the “disastrous consequences” it would have. They call for a “diplomatic” solution to be found.
“Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war, with disastrous consequences for the Middle East,” declared US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin while receiving his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, at the Pentagon .
“Diplomacy is by far the best way to avoid further escalation,” he added.
Mr. Gallant, for his part, noted that “we are working closely to reach an agreement, but we must also prepare for all possible scenarios.”
The Israeli Defense Minister continues his consultations with American officials in Washington on Tuesday, against a backdrop of tensions with the administration of President Joe Biden over the delivery of weapons to Israel.
The head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, warned Tuesday in Beirut that a “miscalculation” could provoke a large-scale war between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel at any time, calling on both parties to exercise restraint.
“With each rocket crossing the Blue Line […]the danger increases that a miscalculation could trigger a war […] », wrote on X Annalena Baerbock, in reference to the demarcation line set by the UN between Lebanon and Israel.
Coming from Israel, the German minister met with the head of the Lebanese government Najib Mikati, according to whom the best way to achieve “a return to calm in southern Lebanon is to put an end to Israeli aggression […] and to fully implement UN Resolution 1701.”
This resolution, adopted after the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers be deployed in southern Lebanon.