KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 – More countries worldwide are urging their citizens to evacuate Lebanon as tensions in the region intensify, following continued Israeli airstrikes on the country.
On Wednesday, Malaysia also advised its citizens to make immediate arrangements to leave Lebanon voluntarily.
BERNAMA reported the Foreign Ministry in a statement also urged Malaysian citizens to defer all travel to Lebanon until the situation there returns to normalcy.
The Indian Embassy in Beirut in a statement said all Indian nationals are “strongly advised to leave Lebanon” and not to travel to Lebanon.
Around 4,000 Indians lived in Lebanon until recently and most of them were employed in companies, construction sector, and agricultural farms.
Anadolu Agency reported Italy and Belgium on Wednesday advised their nationals to do the same.
In Cairo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement Wednesday advised its nationals to avoid travelling to Lebanon, citing Israeli military strikes.
EgyptAir said Tuesday it suspended flights from Cairo to Beirut until conditions stabilise in Lebanon.
Russia also urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country.
The Russian embassy and other diplomatic missions in Lebanon are working to inform some 3,000 Russian citizens staying in Lebanon about the existing warnings and recommendations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing in Moscow.
Meanwhile, dpa reported that the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Britons to leave Lebanon by the remaining commercial routes without relying on a possible evacuation.
“In relation to Lebanon, I am very worried about the escalation. I’m calling for all parties to step back from the brink, to de-escalate. We need a ceasefire so this can be sorted out diplomatically,” he said ahead of his appearance at the UN in New York.
“But I have a very important message for British nationals in Lebanon which is: the time to leave is now. The contingency plans are being ramped up but don’t wait for those, there are still commercial flights.
“It’s very important that they hear my message, which is to leave and to leave immediately,” Starmer said.
Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since early Monday that have killed nearly 610 victims and injured more than 2,000, according to Lebanese health authorities.
