The Belgian Foreign Ministry has called on Belgians currently in Lebanon to leave the country as quickly as possible. Belgium is latest in a whole list of countries that have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon in recent days.
These include the USA, France and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Sweden has announced that it will close its embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut and many airlines have cancelled their flights to Lebanon.
Fears of an imminent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East have led to the Belgian Foreign Ministry’s call for Belgians currently in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as possible.
The Belgian Foreign Ministry also advises against travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Those that do decide to travel there are told to be very careful.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza war, there have also been repeated rocket and artillery attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon. The are being carried out by the Iranian-backed Islamist paramilitary group Hezbollah. In recent weeks the killing of a number of leading figures from Hezbollah and Hamas has further heightened tensions in the region.