Ottawa warns Canadians in Lebanon there is no guaranteed evacuation

Global Affairs Canada is informing much than 20,000 Canadians successful Lebanon that they can’t trust connected authorities removal flights if warfare engulfs that country.

The section says 21,399 Canadians person officially registered arsenic being successful Lebanon, though it expects galore much are coming successful nan country.

Canada has urged group for months to time off Lebanon and not recreation there, though diaspora groups opportunity galore person gone up pinch recreation plans, including visits to family. Peer countries that had not yet ordered citizens to time off did truthful successful caller weeks, arsenic tensions betwixt Israel and Hezbollah militants successful Lebanon intensify.

Canada has been readying since past October for a imaginable removal of its citizens, and sent subject unit to Lebanon and Cyprus successful preparation. But Canada warns evacuations aren’t ever possible.

On Wednesday, nan authorities erstwhile again urged Canadians to time off Lebanon immediately.

“Some airlines person already temporarily suspended their work to Beirut. Additional recreation disruptions are likely, including airspace closures and formation cancellations and diversions,” it said connected X.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly besides posted a informing connected X. She said Canadian citizens and imperishable residents who are successful Canada and reasoning astir visiting Lebanon shouldn’t go, and those who are presently successful Lebanon should travel back.

“If tensions escalate, nan business connected nan crushed whitethorn not let america to thief you and you won’t beryllium capable to leave. Plan accordingly,” Joly said.

Lebanese-Montrealer Lamia Charlebois said galore Canadians successful Lebanon person to take whether to enactment successful nan state and attraction for aged parents, aliases alert backmost to Canada early pinch their children for nan commencement of nan schoolhouse year.

“We’re torn … betwixt nan motherland and nan adoptive land, nan parents and nan kids. That’s nan problem,” said Charlebois, who manages a Facebook group pinch much than 13,000 members dedicated to helping Lebanese newcomers successful Montreal.

“It’s ever nan aforesaid dilemma. Do you hold a spot and see? Stay pinch your family, return attraction of your parents, hold a spot and consequence getting stuck aliases you get retired now while you tin while leaving your parents nether nan bombs?”

On Tuesday, Israel carried retired a uncommon onslaught connected nan Lebanese superior metropolis of Beirut, which it said killed a apical Hezbollah commander. The commandant was allegedly down a play rocket onslaught that killed 12 young group successful nan Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

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The Israeli onslaught killed astatine slightest 1 female and 2 children and wounded dozens of people.

When Lebanese-Canadians sojourn Lebanon, it’s often not pinch leisure successful mind, Charlebois said, but their anxieties astir nan state person escalated since Oct. 7, pinch galore Lebanese emotion caught successful nan conflict involving Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah.

Natasha Feghali, 28, a Canadian-Lebanese activistic and pedagogue based successful Windsor, Ont., has relatives successful Lebanon, including family from Canada who are visiting nan Middle Eastern country. She said she is progressively worried astir them arsenic tensions escalate.

“People who I cognize who are connected holidays, they’ve already booked tickets to time off early,” she said.

Feghali said summertime is usually highest play for Lebanese Canadians to sojourn Lebanon. She said she is peculiarly concerned astir family who do not person dual citizenship and will person nary action but to enactment if conditions deteriorate.

“I dream that doesn’t happen,” she said astir a full-scale war. “And I’m very concerned if it does, wherever would they go?”

Global Affairs Canada said successful a statement, “there is ne'er a guarantee nan Canadian authorities will evacuate Canadians successful a situation situation.”

“Canadians should not trust connected nan authorities of Canada for assisted departure aliases evacuation. Government assisted evacuations from a overseas state are an action of past resort, erstwhile each intends of individual and commercialized proscription person been exhausted, and nan information and information of its citizens is compromised.”

Canada has precocious utilized subject planes to extract citizens from crises successful Israel and Sudan to adjacent countries, wherever they could salary for commercialized flights home.

— With files from Joe Bongiorno successful Montreal and The Associated Press.