UNIFIL urges families of its personnel to leave Lebanon temporarily

BEIRUT, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesman Andrea Tenenti said on Thursday that families of the peacekeepers working with the agency must leave the country, Elnashra news website reported.
“Many families have left, even though some remained in Beirut where the situation was calmer,” the spokesperson said. “The new measure concerns them as well, and it is temporary.”
Tenenti’s remarks coincided with the recent conflict escalation between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on the border in southern Lebanon.
Tenenti added that the measure is expected to last “at least until the end of August,” noting it cannot be described as “an evacuation but rather as a relocation.”
Several countries have issued urgent calls for their nationals to leave Lebanon in recent days, while several airlines have delayed or suspended flights to Beirut.
Anticipation and caution have been prevailing in Lebanon following Israel’s recent attack on Dahieh in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which killed Hezbollah senior military commander Fouad Shokor and seven civilians.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli raid at the appropriate time and place.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas’s attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. ■