U.S. Warns Americans In Lebanon To ‘Depart Now’ As Hezbollah-Israel War

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Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb early on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP) (Photo by FADEL ITANI/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
1:15 PM – Monday, October 14, 2024

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is calling on Americans to leave Lebanon as soon as possible as the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues to ramp up.

“U.S. citizens in Lebanon are strongly encouraged to depart now,” the embassy said in a notice to citizens on Monday. “U.S. citizens who choose not to depart at this time should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further.”

Only 1,100 of the estimated 86,000 Americans who live in Lebanon have fled the country so far, with the U.S. setting aside thousands of seats on flights out of Lebanon since September 27^th, according to the State Department.

However, the embassy warned that the flights “will not continue indefinitely,” pleading with all Americans in Lebanon to make a decision sooner rather than later.

Embassy officials also state that any plans for those who choose not to leave “should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuations.”

The warning comes after other countries have already issued evacuation orders for their citizens in Lebanon following heavy airstrikes from Israel in Beirut and intense fighting along the border with Hezbollah.

The U.S. had previously received criticism for not being proactive enough during evacuation calls earlier in October.

However, some concerns have been made by fellow Americans who are in Lebanon.

Fellow American Hana Bechara, said she found the embassy and State Department’s initial guidance vague and unhelpful when she tried to schedule a flight to leave Lebanon.

Bechara told The Intercept that her government was not providing any financial help to pay for the expensive flights to get out of Lebanon despite the constant airstrikes in Beirut.

“I have absolutely no faith in that anymore, and so what I would want from the U.S. is some effort to try to restore that trust because at this point, a lot of us do feel like we were abandoned to figure things out on our own,” Amy Fallas, another American living in Beirut, told The Intercept.

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