(TargetLiberty.org) – On Friday the Biden administration issued a recommendation calling for Americans in Lebanon to “leave now” while there were still commercial flights available.
The advisory came as the escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group in control of Gaza, continued to be “unpredictable.” This unpredictability led them to issue the advisory.
The State Department also put out a list of flights from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport that Americans are able to take in order to leave the country. They further pointed out that Americans should not depend on government assistance in order to leave the country.
The administration pointed out that this was the best possible time for Americans to leave the country before any possible escalation in the crisis. The U.S. military has also assisted in the evacuation of Americans from certain countries, but the occasions where that has occurred are extremely rare and there is currently no guarantee of an evacuation in the case where a crisis starts unfolding.
Calls for Americans to leave the Middle East have been high following the escalation in the tensions between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran. Earlier this month the State Department had put out a similar recommendation after there was an exchange of fire between the two groups at the Israeli border.
Shortly after the Israeli military announced that it would be expanding its activity in Gaza in retaliation for the attack by Hamas.
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