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Yijing Shen

China issued a travel warning for Lebanon on Monday as heightened tensions with Israel sparked fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
The Chinese embassy in Lebanon asked nationals to be cautious about travelling to the country, calling the security situation there “grave and complex” following conflicts on the border with Israel and deadly Israeli air strikes last week on Lebanese capital Beirut targeting Hezbollah.
In a notice published on Monday night, the embassy also told its citizens and institutions in Lebanon to “stay on high alert and strengthen security precautions and preparations for emergencies”.
Those still going to Lebanon despite the warning “may face higher security risk and the efficiency of the assistance they receive may be affected”, it warned.
Several countries including the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Turkey and Jordan have already issued similar warnings, after Iran vowed revenge on Israel following the assassination in Tehran on Wednesday of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas.


This came hours after Israeli strikes on southern Beirut killed Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr.
Israel is on high alert in anticipation of retaliatory attacks from Iran-linked armed groups including Hamas and Hezbollah, and US President Joe Biden convened a security meeting on Monday on “developments in the Middle East”.
The US has said it will move additional warships and fighter jets to the region as the Iran-aligned “Axis of resistance” – involving groups also from Yemen, Iraq, and Syria – readies its response.
The US embassy in Lebanon has urged citizens to book “any ticket available” while Britain has asked its nationals to “leave now”.
But the Chinese advisory on Monday stopped short of instructing citizens to leave.
Since the Gaza war broke out in October, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged strikes nearly every day, as the Lebanese group showed solidarity with Hamas, which controlled the Gaza Strip.


Iran’s mission to the UN said it expected Hezbollah to hit deeper inside Israel and no longer be confined to military targets following last week’s assassinations.
On Tuesday morning, Israel said it shot down a “suspicious aerial target” that infiltrated its airspace from Lebanon after sirens were triggered in two northern communities. There were no casualties in the incident, according to the Times of Israel.
On Monday, Hezbollah claimed to have launched a drone attack that hit a military target in northern Israel, calling it retaliation for the recent assassinations and a show of support for Gaza, Associated Press reported.
Beijing has repeatedly called for restraint from all sides.
The soaring regional tensions have seen major airlines including Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, Delta, Air France, Turkish Airlines and Singapore Airlines temporarily suspend flights to Israel, and they have also been avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace since last week.
China has deployed peacekeeping forces to Lebanon since 2006, as part of a UN peacekeeping mission established by the Security Council in 1978.
So far it has deployed 22 batches to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the latest in December, when 410 Chinese peacekeepers were designated to take on tasks including construction, medical assistance and mine clearance.
In July 2006, a People’s Liberation officer who also acted as an observer of the UN Truce Supervision Organisation in Lebanon, was killed in an Israeli air strike during the conflict with Hezbollah that year.


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China-Middle East relations

China issues Lebanon travel warning as Israel tensions spark ‘grave’ security alert

Demonstrators at a rally in Sidon, Lebanon, on Monday condemn the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. Iran blames Israel for the assassination in Tehran last week and has vowed  revenge. Photo: Reuters

Iran says it has ‘legal right’ to punish Israel for Haniyeh killing, doesn’t want all-out war

Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in an assassination blamed on Israel, during their funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran on  August 1. Photo: AP

Iran said on Monday it has the “legal right” to respond to the assassination in Tehran last week of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, an attack blamed on Israel. Photo: AP

A view of the damaged site where top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed following an Israeli strike on July 30. Photo: Reuters

Gaza war: US to send more warships, fighter jets to boost Israel defence amid Iran threats

Aircraft are seen on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea in July. Photo: US Navy via AP

Demonstrators carry signs during a protest over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and in support of Palestinians in Gaza, near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Fears of Middle East war grow after Hamas leader’s killing

Palestinians hold placards during a protest in solidarity with Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails, in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. In a recent call with his Israeli counterpart, Austin reiterated ironclad support for Israel’s security. Photo: AFP

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant (R) meets with Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom John Healey. Healey called for an immediate ceasefire and for all sides to show “restraint” and “dial down the tension at this critical moment”. Photo: ZUMA

Protesters march in London during the “National March for Gaza”, calling to “end the genocide”, “stop arming Israel” and “no Middle East war” on Saturday. The health ministry in Gaza said that at least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in nearly 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas. Photo: AFP

Foreign nationals told to leave Lebanon as war fears surge

Projectiles fired from the Israeli Iron Dome air defensc system intercept missiles fired from southern Lebanon, over the upper Galilee, northern Israel on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Israeli first responders investigate the scene of a reported stabbing in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Protesters hold up posters of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli strike, assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi during a protest in Sanaa, Yemen on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Palestinians inspect the site of Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Tehran, Iran on Sunday. Photo: Iranian Presidency Office via AP

Like the US before World War I, China is staying above the fray

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi looks on at the signing of the Beijing Declaration of unity by rival Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas, in Beijing on July 23. Unlike the US and the Camp David Accords, China does not see the Beijing Declaration as a defence of its regional influence. Photo: AP

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th US president, served two four-year terms from 1913-1921. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for his “Fourteen Point” peace plan and work towards establishing the League of Nations. Photo: Corbis

News

China

Diplomacy

Chinese embassy urges nationals in Lebanon to be better prepared for emergencies but stops short of ordering evacuation, unlike US or UK


Chinese embassy urges nationals in Lebanon to be better prepared for emergencies but stops short of ordering evacuation, unlike US or UK.


Middle East

Israel-Gaza war

Iran

United Nations