Beijing, 6 August 2024 (TDI): China’s embassy in Beirut urged citizens to “travel with caution” should they visit Lebanon, warning they face “higher security risks” as fears of a regional conflict gow.
In a statement, the embassy warned citizens the situation in the country was serious and complex.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Lebanon remind Chinese nationals to closely monitor the evolution of the local situation and to travel with caution in the country in the near future, it said.
As Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza nears the eleventh month, the Tehran-aligned “Axis of Resistance” is widely likely to retaliate after the killing of two senior leaders.
Palestinian armed group Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assasinated in Tehran last week in an attack blamed on Israel, which has not directly commented on it.
The murder came hours after an Israeli attack on Beirut killed the military chief of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Fuad Shukr.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued near-daily exchanges of fire.
Multiple countries have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.
Beijing’s embassy also advised Chinese to “remain very vigilant” should they travel in Lebanon.
If Chinese nationals insist on going to Lebanon despite the warning, they may face higher security risks, it cautioned.
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Moreover, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the conflict in Gaza and will complicate negotiations on resolving the crisis.
He said that there is no doubt that the purpose of Haniyeh’s assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope.
It will have a negative impact on the ongoing talks to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, he added.
Abbas said that this a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics.
