Turkey calls on its citizens to leave Lebanon

The Turkish Foreign Ministry called on its citizens to leave Lebanon amid expectations of a rapid deterioration in the security situation there, amid anticipation of an escalation in mutual attacks between Iran and Hezbollah on one hand, and Israel on the other. The Turkish Foreign Ministry asked in a statement last night Turkish citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Lebanon, and those currently in Lebanon to leave "while civilian commercial flights are still operating." The statement read: "Our citizens in Lebanon should exercise caution and not go to the governorates of Nabatieh, South Lebanon, Bekaa, and Baalbek-Hermel except in cases of necessity." The Turkish Foreign Ministry also called on Turkish citizens to follow developments on the official websites and social media accounts of the ministry and the Turkish embassy in Beirut. The call came amid expectations of an escalation in mutual attacks between Iran and Hezbollah on one hand and Israel on the other, after Tel Aviv assassinated the prominen t leader of the Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, last Tuesday, and Hamas and Iran accused it of assassinating the head of the movement's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, on Wednesday in Tehran. Since October 8, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have been exchanging daily shelling with the Israeli occupation army across the "Blue Line" separating the two sides, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, most of them on the Lebanese side. The factions link the cessation of shelling to Israel ending a war it has been waging with American support on the Gaza Strip since October 7, which has left more than 130,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing. Source: National Iraqi News Agency