India issues precautionary advisory to nationals in Lebanon to stay in touch amid tensions

NEW DELHI: The Indian embassy in Lebanon has issued an advisory for Indian nationals to stay in touch with the embassy amid the recent situation as a ‘matter of precaution’ so that they can swiftly contact at the shortest possible time.

Addressing a weekly briefing on Friday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The embassy in Beirut has issued an advisory. The advisory is not a travel advisory, restricting Indians from travelling to Beirut. It is an advisory for Indian nationals who are based in Lebanon so that they stay in touch with the embassy”.

“There is an evolving situation there and, as a matter of precaution, this particular advisory has been issued so that the embassy is enabled if there is a requirement to get in touch with Indian nationals, they can do so at the shortest possible time”, he added.

#WATCH | On the situation in Lebanon, MEA Spox Randhir Jaiswal says, “2000-3000 Indians live there. Our embassy is in touch with them. We have not issued a travel advisory but we have advised our people to keep in touch with our embassy.” pic.twitter.com/nuEWWHdWxj

— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2024

Further, the MEA spokesperson also said many Indians reside and work in Lebanon, and the Indian embassy in Lebanon is in regular contact with them so that prompt assistance can be provided if needed. “Many Indians live and work there. According to my information, there are 2,000-3,000 Indians in Lebanon and our embassy is in continuous touch with them. We didn’t issue a travel advisory, we just said to keep in touch with the embassy so that if there is any problem, we can take prompt action”, Jaiswal said.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported that earlier on Thursday that Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft attacked in the Sakhmar region of Lebanon where they eliminated an active UAV/drone launch unit of the Hezbollah air unit that had carried out launches into Israel earlier. Fighter jets also attacked military buildings of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah in the areas of Hula and Aitaroun in southern Lebanon.

At the same time, the IDF forces fired artillery into the areas of Wadi Hamoula and near Naqoura, both in southern Lebanon. In addition, on June 26, the terrorist infrastructure of the Hezbollah organisation was attacked in the areas of Odaisseh and Al-Khiam in Lebanon.

Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have risen sharply since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing military campaign by Israel in Gaza. Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has been firing missiles, mortars and drones into Israel, and Israel has returned that fire, CNN reported.

Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the mountainous border have fled as concerns intensify about the possible outbreak of another full-fledged war. (ANI)