Olayiwola Matthew
The federal government has commenced arrangements to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon due to escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
In an announcement, Special Assistant to the President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun in a post on X, formerly Twitter yesterday advised Nigerians in Lebanon to contact the Nigerian mission for documentation.
“Alert! All Nigerians in Lebanon are expected to get in touch with the Nigerian mission for profiling and documentation and subsequent evacuation,” he wrote.
This comes as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel yesterday, retaliating for the assassination of Hezbollah leaders, prompting a heated exchange of threats.
However, global powers, including China and Saudi Arabia, are calling for calm and dialogue.
Israel launches fresh strikes on Beirut as tension flares
Israel launched fresh series of attacks on the Lebanese capital of Beirut today.
The army made the announcement on social media platform X, saying it was attacking terrorist targets in Beirut.
The army issued multiple evacuation orders for people living in several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs in the early hours of today.
There were initially no reports of casualties or damage.
The strikes came hours after Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel, firing around 180 rockets yesterday evening, according to initial estimates by the Israeli army
Iran said the attack was in retaliation for the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
It also warned of devastating and destructive attacks if Israel responded.
Iran’s attack came hours after the Israel Defence Forces began a limited, localised ground operation against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
The continued escalation has heightened fears that the region is on the brink of all-out regional war.