Canada tells citizens to leave Lebanon as Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensifies

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Canada has reiterated its call for its citizens to leave Lebanon due to the deteriorating security situation, as Israel and Hezbollah trade daily exchanges of fire.

“Security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to sustained and escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel and could deteriorate further without warning,” Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said.

“My message to Canadians has been clear since the beginning of the crisis in the Middle East: it is not the time to travel to Lebanon. And for Canadians currently in Lebanon it is time to leave, while commercial flights remain available.”

Since October, when the clashes broke out in parallel to the Israel-Gaza war, many countries have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon.

While the exchanges of fire have been generally contained to the Israel-Lebanon border region, increasingly they have expanded further into both countries.

Israel has hit as far as Hermel in Lebanon's north-eastern border region with Syria.

“If the armed conflict intensifies, it could impact your ability to leave the country and our ability to provide you with consular services,” Ms Joly added.

“Canada is not currently offering assisted departures or evacuations for Canadians in Lebanon and these are not guaranteed.”

2006 evacuations

In 2006, the last time Hezbollah and Israel engaged in an all-out war, Canada leased seven ships to evacuate a possible 50,000 Canadians. Ultimately, about 15,000 people were evacuated in what was known as Operation Lion, although not all were Canadians. Many Lebanese hold dual citizenships, including from Canada.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced either side of the Lebanese-Israel border due to the conflict, which shows no sign of abating.

On a visit to Beirut on Wednesday, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin urged parties in the Middle East to accept peace proposals, saying the region, including Lebanon, “doesn't need war”.

“The Middle East is going through a critical moment,” Mr Parolin said.

The Holy See “asks for peace proposals to be welcomed, so that fighting stops on each side, so hostages in Gaza are released, so that the necessary aid arrives unhindered to the Palestinian population”, he said.

“Lebanon, the Middle East, the whole world certainly doesn't need war.”

Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a ground incursion into south Lebanon, while Hezbollah has said it will not end its attacks until Israel stops its brutal bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who visited Israel and Lebanon this week, said any “miscalculation” could trigger all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and called for caution.

“With every rocket across the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, the danger grows that a miscalculation could trigger a hot war,” she wrote on X during her stop in Beirut on Tuesday, referring to the demarcation line separating the neighbouring countries.

“All who bear responsibility must exercise extreme restraint.”

Also on Tuesday, the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said three contractors returning home from the peacekeepers' base in the south Lebanon village of Shamaa “had their vehicle hit by gunfire”, reporting “no serious injuries”.

“We reiterate our condemnation of any attack on civilians, or any action that puts civilian lives in danger,” Unifil deputy spokeswoman Kandice Ardiel said, without indicating the source of the fire.

“This includes the locals who continue to reside in their villages and provide essential services to support peacekeepers in their work.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey stood in solidarity with Lebanon in light of the growing tensions and called on regional countries to also support Beirut.

“Israel, which has destroyed Gaza, has now set its sight on Lebanon,” Mr Erdogan said in parliament. “[Israeli President Benjamin] Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region, with the consent of the West, will lead to a great disaster.”

He said Western support for Israel was “pitiful”.

Israel's military said last week that plans for an offensive in Lebanon were “approved and validated”, prompting fresh threats from Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that some forces involved in the campaign against Hamas in Gaza would be redeployed to the northern border with Lebanon.

The US, Israel's key ally, warned of the risk of a major conflict against Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

“Hezbollah’s provocations threaten to drag the Israeli and Lebanese people into a war that they do not want, and such a war would be a catastrophe for Lebanon, and it would be devastating for innocent Israeli and Lebanese civilians,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told his visiting Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Tuesday.

“Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war, with terrible consequences for the Middle East.”

2006 Israel-Lebanon war – in pictures