U.S., others urge citizens to leave Lebanon

Transcript

00:00Meanwhile, Lebanon is turning out to be an undesirable place for foreigners as the United

00:05States preps to beef up its forces in the Mediterranean amidst Iran's threats to exact

00:10revenge against Israel for killing a Hamas political leader in Tehran during the inauguration

00:16of its newly minted prime minister.

00:18V-Way's Arash Arabasadi has more.

00:23U.S. warships and fighter jets are on their way to the Middle East to deter an all-out

00:28war and, in quote, defense of Israel.

00:31The Pentagon is moving significant assets to the region to prepare for what may be another

00:36need to defend Israel from an attack, while simultaneously we are working very hard to

00:41de-escalate this situation diplomatically, because we do not believe that a regional

00:45war is in anyone's interest in the current moment, and that is something we've been trying

00:49to avoid since October 7th.

00:52The show of military might comes amid rapidly soaring tensions in the region following the

00:57assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, and a rocket

01:04strike on Israel's Golan Heights area that killed a dozen children on a soccer field

01:09days before.

01:10Israel blamed the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for the attack and struck what it

01:15said were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

01:17A Hezbollah commander was killed.

01:19Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran.

01:23Hezbollah's ongoing aggression and brutal attacks are dragging the people of Lebanon

01:30and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation.

01:36While we prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war, the IDF is fully prepared for

01:45any scenario.

01:47But in Beirut, on footage carried by the Hezbollah-controlled Al-Manar TV, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

01:54denied the group's involvement.

01:58We categorically deny our responsibility of this incident, and we have the courage to

02:03take responsibility if we bomb the place, even by mistake.

02:06Despite the finger-pointing, there are real-world consequences for people living in the region.

02:12Israel's Iron Dome air defense system triggered over the weekend to intercept attacks from

02:17across the border in Lebanon.

02:19And with military reinforcements on the way, the State Department issued a do-not-travel

02:24advisory for Lebanon, encouraging U.S. citizens to depart.

02:29Arash Arabesati, VOA News.