Turkey, Japan urge their citizens to leave Lebanon

Turkey and Japan become the latest countries to warn their citizens not to stay in Lebanon.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry issues a travel alert urging Japanese citizens in Lebanon to evacuate the country in light of the rising tensions.

Turkey urges its citizens to leave Lebanon if they do not need to stay, due to the possibility that the security situation there will deteriorate rapidly, its foreign ministry says.

Turks in Lebanon should be cautious and should not go to Nebatiyeh, South Lebanon, Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates unless it is essential, the ministry says in a statement.

“Those who do not need to stay in Lebanon should leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still operating, if possible,” it says, adding that Turks should avoid traveling to Lebanon unless essential.

Tensions have soared since the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a top military commander from Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah.