Americans urged to leave this country immediately
Officials with the U.S. Department of State are recommending that all Americans leave Lebanon while they still can as cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies.
The State Department issued the recommendation on X, formerly Twitter, for Americans to leave the Middle East country “while commercial flights remain available” due to the “unpredictable security situation” in the region.
The warning comes as Israeli forces continue to exchange fire with Hezbollah fighters along Israel’s northern border as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on to the south.
Iran-backed Hezbollah is closely aligned with Hamas and concerns are mounting that the regional conflict could escalate.
Hezbollah’s leader has praised Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack when militants attacked farming villages, towns and military posts, killing more than 1,400 people — most of them Israeli civilians — and taking hundreds of hostages back to Gaza while Israeli forces were slow to respond.
“U.S. military-assisted evacuations of civilians from a foreign country are rare,” the State Department said. “There is no guarantee the U.S. government will evacuate private U.S. citizens and their family members in a crisis situation.”
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The U.S. Embassy’s Beirut Consular Section is open for emergency services on a walk-in basis, officials said, though they are only issuing emergency passports valid for one year.
Links to available resources for Americans impacted by the evacuation warning can be found below:
Available flight options from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport
The U.S. State Department’s “What the Department of State Can and Can’t Do in a Crisis” bulletin
The Department of State’s crisis intake form for Americans who need emergency assistance
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut can be reached by calling 1-833-890-9595 from the United States or +961-4-543-600 from Lebanon.
A full version of the security alert can be read here.
Click here to read the State Department’s latest information for U.S. citizens in the Middle East.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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