Dutch government warns its citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately

The Netherlands escalated its travel advice for Lebanon to code red. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Dutch people currently in Lebanon to leave the country as soon as they can safely do so and advised other Netherlands residents not to travel to the country under any circumstances.

Tensions are high in Lebanon due to the escalated violence between Israel and Gaza. “Rocket attacks and shootings are being carried out from Israel and Lebanon in the border area. It is unpredictable whether this violence will spread to other parts of Lebanon,” the Ministry said.

Until now, the travel advice for Lebanon was orange - only visit if absolutely necessary. Code red only applied to the border regions.

Transavia canceled all its flights between Schiphol and Beirut in Lebanon until at least Tuesday due to the “increased uncertainty” in the region, a spokesperson told ANP. The KLM subsidiary already canceled all flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, until at least December 21.