More than 20,000 Canadians in Lebanon have been warned by Global Affairs Canada to leave immediately while commercial flights are still available as tensions escalate in the Middle East.
The department says Canadians in that country are unable to rely on government evacuation flights if war breaks out inside Lebanon.
Earlier this week, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed its senior commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Beirut.
The attack in Beirut’s densely populated area resulted in five civilian casualties, including two children.
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire since Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel and sparked the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Natasha Feghali, is a Windsor based Canadian-Lebanese activist and educator with family and friends currently living in and visiting Lebanon.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, Feghali says it's important for Canadians to heed the warning from the government.
"It's better to do the responsible thing than wait until the last minute, and currently many air carriers have cancelled flights, as they don't see flights taking off in the foreseeable future. So only with a limited amount of carriers, it's best to make an exit plan."
She says right now day-to-day life in Beirut is continuing on as usual.
"It's very different when we look at from a western context because we do not have a history of things like this taking place, but again in many other regions, geopolitically, this is just a hiccup. They don't see it as a major full-scale event until it becomes one for better or for worse."
She says what's happening there and in all surrounding countries is at no fault of civilians and she hopes things can be resolved peacefully.
"If thing's can be resolved diplomatically and with helping from other countries in the U.N., this is something that we always hope for in the region."
Feghali says she is worried for family and friends who do not have dual citizenship and will have to remain in the country if a full-scale war breaks out.
The most up to date travel information from the Canadian government is available by clicking here: https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/lebanon.
Travellers in need of emergency assistance should contact the government from this website: https://travel.gc.ca/assistance/emergency-assistance.
-With files from The Canadian Press and Associated Press
