US Workers in Lebanon Evacuate After Protesters Target US Embassy in Beirut

U.S. citizens are being urged to avoid travel to Lebanon as there are fears of escalating fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

The Department of State has authorized the voluntary departure of family members of U.S. government personnel and some non-emergency personnel on a case-by-case basis from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut due to the “unpredictable security situation” in Lebanon.

The U.S. updated its Travel Advisory for Lebanon to Level 4: Do Not Travel.

“We recommend that U.S. citizens in Lebanon make appropriate arrangements to leave the country,” the notice read.

The embassy said commercial flights remain available out of the country.

It recommended that U.S. citizens who choose not to leave have contingency plans for emergency situations. The embassy warned that Americans should not rely on the U.S. government to be able to get them out of the country.

Hundreds of protestors clashed with security forces outside of the U.S. embassy on Tuesday after a deadly attack on a hospital in Gaza.

U.S. citizens in Beirut were warned to avoid the Awkar area on Wednesday given the potential for further demonstrations.

Clashes also erupted Tuesday along the Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah has traded fire with Israeli forces at the border, threatening to enter the war with its massive arsenal of rockets.

Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi threatened that Israel would retaliate aggressively should Hezbollah escalate its attacks.

Protests have spread across the region.

Late Tuesday, pro-Palestinian protesters tried to storm the Israeli Embassy in Jordan.

Turkish protesters clashed with police overnight outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.  More than 60 people were hurt when they tried storming the building, the news agency DPA reported. Another protest was held outside the U.S. embassy in Amman.

And a crowd gathered outside the NATO Kurecik Radar Base in Turkey.

In Egypt, a small group of activists protested late Tuesday near the U.S. embassy in Cairo, according to the Associated Press.

The State Department previously warned U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel” to Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest and not to travel at all to Gaza due to terrorism, civil unrest and armed conflict.