Irish citizens who are in Lebanon should leave by commercial means, the Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has urged.
He warned that if the security situation in the country deteriorates, the Government “may be limited” in the level of assistance it can provide.
Fears have been growing in the region of a war between Israel and Hizbullah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group.
Tensions in the region increased further at the weekend after a rocket from Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 12 people in an Israeli-controlled town. Most of the dead were children.
[ Lebanon braces for Israeli retaliation, as drone strike kills two in southOpens in new window ]
The rocket attack prompted Israel to retaliate on Sunday with a series of strikes across Lebanon. However, further Israel attacks are considered likely.
On Monday Mr Martin reiterated Government advice which has been in place since last October against all travel to Lebanon.
A spokesman for Mr Martin told The Irish Times that about 100 Irish citizens living in Lebanon had registered with the Irish embassy in Cairo, Egypt.
The Minister said: “I urge Irish citizens in Lebanon to leave by commercial means. Citizens should be aware that, if the security situation deteriorates, we may be limited in the assistance we can provide.”
Israel has blamed Hizbullah for the rocket attack on Majdal Shams, a town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in which 12 teenagers and children were killed.
The attack was the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since the assault by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza on Israel on October 7th last year.
Israel’s security cabinet authorised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister to decide when and how to retaliate for the deadly rocket attack Israel.
“The State of Israel will not, and cannot, ignore this,” Netanyahu said during a visit on Monday to Majdal Shams. “Our response will come, and it will be severe.”
The White House on Sunday also blamed Hizbullah for the Majdal Shams strike. “This attack was conducted by Lebanese Hizbullah. It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control,” it said in a statement.
Hizbullah has denied it had “absolutely nothing” to do with the attack on Majdal Shams.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
