Countries urge nationals to leave Lebanon as war fears surge

Diplomats work to avert military escalation expected from Iran and allies

Urgent calls grew on Aug 4 for foreign nationals to leave Lebanon, which would be on the front line of a regional war, as Iran and its allies readied their response to high-profile killings blamed on Israel.

While diplomats worked to avert a feared conflagration, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II said a regional military escalation must be avoided "at all costs", the French presidency said after they held a telephone call.

With major military action from Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and others widely expected, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: "If they dare to attack us, they will pay a heavy price." The nearly 10-month-old war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has already led to a violent fallout that has become routine around the region.

The cross-border violence since October has killed some 547 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 115 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

And Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Aug 4 claimed a strike on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. It was the first such attack since Israel struck the rebel-controlled Hodeida port in July in retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv.