US Embassy Warns American Citizens in Lebanon to Leave on ‘Any Ticket Available’

The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and many more countries warned their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible amid heightening regional tensions, following strikes in Beirut and Israel in recent days. The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon warned its citizens they should book “any ticket available to them,” while the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary’s office called on UK citizens to “leave now.” France sent an alert to its citizens to leave Lebanon “as soon as possible,” according to a statement that was issued by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign affairs on Sunday. “We encourage those who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route. U.S. citizens who lack funds to return to the United States may contact the embassy for financial assistance via repatriation loans,” said the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Saturday, adding that flights by some commercial airlines have been canceled in recent days....