State Department reiterates Americans should ‘reconsider travel to Lebanon’ – Washington Examiner

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut reiterated its warning on Thursday that Americans should “reconsider” any travel plans to Lebanon given the continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

“We remind U.S. citizens to strongly reconsider travel to Lebanon,” the reminder advisory said. “The security environment remains complex and can change quickly… the Lebanese government cannot guarantee the protection of U.S. citizens against sudden outbreaks of violence and armed conflict.”

The State Department has not yet urged Americans to leave Lebanon, though some countries have done so amid the tension between Israel and Hezbollah, the U.S.-designated terrorism group based in Lebanon.

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“Obviously, we want all Americans in Lebanon who are still there, either on business or other travel, to be as careful as possible to make sure that they have registered with the State Department system so that the State Department can stay in regular touch with them and that they do everything they can to be — to watch out for their own safety,” national security council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday. 

Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in a limited conflict that primarily includes the firing of rockets and missiles over the border since Hamas‘s Oct. 7 terrorist attack was a catalyst for the instability in the region.

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The attacks have resulted in the displacement of more than a hundred thousand Israeli and Lebanese civilians who live near the shared border. Both Israeli and Hezbollah leaders have threatened to escalate their conflict into a full-fledged war recently, though such a battle would likely result in significant destruction and casualties on both sides.

The United States has tried to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a regional conflict since October. Several senior U.S. officials have met with their Israeli counterparts in recent weeks in their attempts to help simmer the tension.

“Hezbollah’s provocations threaten to drag the Israeli and Lebanese people into a war that they do not want. Such a war would be a catastrophe for Lebanon, and it would be devastating for innocent Israeli and Lebanese civilians,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said this week ahead of his meeting with Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant.

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“Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war, with terrible consequences for the Middle East, and so diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation.”

Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006. The monthlong conflict went on until the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution ending the war. The agreement barred them from maintaining a presence south of the Litani River, which is located roughly 18 miles north of the Israel-Lebanon border, though they have not abided by it.