Global fears of war in Lebanon: G7 foreign ministers call for avoiding violent escalation in the Middle East

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani held a meeting on Sunday with his counterparts from the G7 group, of which Italy is the rotating president, to address the delicate moment in the Middle East and called for avoiding any gesture that could encourage a new escalation.

“Together with our partners, we have expressed serious concern about recent developments that threaten to lead to a regionalisation of the crisis, starting with Lebanon,” Tajani said in a statement after the meeting.

The G7 foreign ministers – comprising Italy, the United States, France, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and Japan – also called on “the interested parties to desist from any initiative that could hinder the path of dialogue and moderation and favour a new escalation.”

“By reaffirming our support for the Biden Plan, we reiterate the priority of a favorable conclusion to the negotiations on the ceasefire in Gaza and on the release of hostages, and we confirm our commitment to stepping up humanitarian assistance to the populations of the Strip, including in the area of ​​Food for Gaza,” Tajani continued.

The Italian minister recalled with his colleagues the importance of respecting UN Security Council Resolution 1701 for the management of the military presence on the borders between Lebanon and Israel.

During the meeting, they also shared information on Lebanon and agreed on the need to maintain constant operational liaison in the region, as well as political coordination.

Several countries are asking their citizens to leave Lebanon

Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Jordan, among others, have asked their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country “as soon as possible” in view of the risk of an escalation in the Middle East, awaiting a possible imminent attack by Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah against Israel.

The Spanish Embassy in Beirut recommended this Sunday through its X account not to travel to Lebanon “in the current situation” and in view of The cancellation of flights advised Spaniards who are in the country, especially if their stay is temporary, to leave “using existing commercial means.”

The French Foreign Ministry on Sunday called on its citizens to “make arrangements to leave Lebanon as soon as possible” because the situation is “very volatile”, while reminding that reservations can still be made for direct commercial flights with a stopover in France.

In the same vein, the British government yesterday urged its nationals still in Lebanon to leave now while there are commercial routes to do so, as the security situation could “deteriorate rapidly.”

In the last days, Several airlines have suspended or postponed flights to and from Lebanon due to the escalation of tensions following the Israeli bombing in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukr, and the assassination in Tehran of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, attributed to Israel.

Other Western countries such as Canada, Australia and Sweden – which closed its embassy in Beirut – have also asked their citizens to evacuate Lebanon, a country that only has one airport for commercial flights, the one in the capital, and which shares a border with Israel and Syria.

Jordan has been the only Arab country to call on its nationals to “leave Lebanese territory as soon as possible,” while warning that any escalation would largely affect its own country, which is in the line of fire between Israel and Iran.

The US embassy in Beirut, for its part, did not explicitly ask its nationals to leave the country but He did encourage “those wishing to leave Lebanon to book any available ticket, even if the flight does not depart immediately or does not follow the route they first chose.”

Other countries, including Canada, Argentina and Hungary, have issued recommendations for their citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon.