Canada calls on citizens in Lebanon to leave ‘while they can’

Canada urges its citizens in Lebanon to leave “while they can,” warning of the risk of escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in the region.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly in a statement calls for Canadians to depart while commercial flights remain in operation.

“The 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,” she says.

“If the armed conflict intensifies,” she says, it could make it harder to leave the country and for Canada to provide consular services to tens of thousands of Canadians believed to be living in the country.

Ottawa is not offering to evacuate Canadians, and an advisory warns against travel to Lebanon.