Saudi joins countries urging citizens to leave Lebanon as Israel-Hezbollah war looms

The Saudi embassy in Lebanon, citing recent developments in the country, called on its citizens to leave and advised against traveling there, Maariv reported on Saturday evening.

The Displaced Persons Minister in Lebanon's interim government, Issam Sharaf al-Din, told the Arab News Agency that Western countries' calls for their citizens to leave Lebanon were a "preventative measure." 

Countries that urged their citizens to leave Lebanon

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon earlier this week. Kuwait also called on its citizens to leave Lebanon.

When asked if this indicates a war, Issam Sharaf al-Din responded, "The war is breaking out, but the tension is limited to southern Lebanon. These steps are being taken out of fear of retaliation rather than fear of bombings or a full-scale war."

Al-Din reiterated statements from Hezbollah and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and placed the onus of stopping the conflict on Israel.

"[Hezbollah] set a condition for stopping the war in southern Lebanon, which is that the attacks on Gaza must end," al-Din said. "The issue does not depend on us, as the Lebanese government, but on the parties to the conflict, which is mainly Israel that continues the war."