US asks Americans in Lebanon 'not to rely on govt assistance', tells them to leave

The US State Department has asked Americans living in Lebanon to leave while commercial flights remain available “due to the unpredictable security situation.” Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah have been trading fire over the border since the Hamas attack on October 7. In a security alert published by the agency, the State Department has asked US citizens in Lebanon to “have a plan of action for crisis situations that does not rely on US government assistance.” “There is no guarantee the US government will evacuate private US citizens and their family members in a crisis situation,” the State Department said. Earlier this month,  the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) along with the Defence Ministry planned to evacuate civilians who reside in towns that are situated in areas up to 2 kilometres from the Lebanese border. These areas have been repeatedly struck by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions in recent days. Meanwhile, Hamas and Hezbollah have reportedly been in touch since the former launched an all-out offensive against Israel on October 7. Hamas Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri also revealed that he had met Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on October 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel and that their fight is also “Hezbollah’s fight.” Earlier this week, Nasrallah, met top officials from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to assess the war. “An assessment was made of…what the parties of the resistance axis must do at this sensitive stage to achieve a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine and to stop the treacherous and brutal aggression against our people,” a statement by Hezbollah said.