Foreign Office issues travel alert to 19 countries which 'could escalate quickly'
The Foreign Office has issued a new travel alert to 19 countries, amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
British tourists currently soaking up the sun in popular holiday destinations such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco have been hit with a new warning. The growing tension between Israel and Lebanon has driven the warning, with the Foreign Office on Sunday cautioning that ongoing hostilities require travellers in or considering visiting these nations to stay vigilant.
Countries specifically named where vigilance is paramount are Egypt, Bahrain, Algeria, UAE, Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, The Occupied Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Libya, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Lebanon itself. UK nationals are urged to make their trip home urgently if currently in Lebanon, the Mirror reports.
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For those potentially at risk elsewhere, the Foreign Office advises: "Ongoing hostilities between Israel and Lebanon could escalate quickly and pose risks for the wider region. Monitor this travel advice and other media as the situation is changing fast. Follow and contact FCDO travel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also get email notifications when this travel advice is updated. Read FCDO advice if you're affected by a crisis abroad."
A recent Israeli air strike in north-east Lebanon resulted in the death of 11 individuals, just a day after the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed the demise of several commanders, including their long-standing leader Hassan Nasrallah. Lebanon's state agency reported the attack on early Sunday morning completely destroyed a village, killing all of its 11 occupants.
Six bodies have since been retrieved from the debris and efforts are ongoing to locate the rest in the village of al-Ain, as per the National News Agency. The Israeli army has stated that it is targeting Hezbollah locations in Lebanon.
Israel escalated its air strikes on September 23 and since then, over 700 people have lost their lives in Lebanon. This has led to a mass exodus from their homes by tens of thousands in south Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburb known as Dahiyeh.
The number of displaced individuals has more than doubled, currently exceeding 211,000, according to the United Nations.