MUSCAT/GENEVA: Taking into account the current situation, the Foreign Ministry has called on all Omani citizens present in or near areas and countries witnessing tensions to immediately return to their homeland and avoid travelling there during this period. The ministry urged citizens to contact the nearest Omani embassies for any inquiries or for necessary support and assistance in the event of any emergency. Citizens can use the ministry’s website or mobile application to communicate with embassies and obtain the latest information. Rising tensions in the Middle East have led to several airlines diverting or cancelling flights to some countries in the region.
Meanwhile, UN humanitarian officials called on Tuesday for urgent action to stop the escalating conflict in Lebanon from spiralling into a similar scene of devastation as seen in Gaza. "We need to do everything we can to stop that from happening," said Matthew Hollingworth, Lebanon country director for the United Nations' World Food Programme. Speaking from Beirut, he told a press briefing in Geneva that he spent the first half of the year coordinating WFP's operations in Gaza before taking the helm of its Lebanon office, and was deeply concerned by the similarities.
"It is in my mind from the time I wake until the time I sleep, that we could go into the same sort of spiral of doom... We shouldn't allow that to happen," he said. Israel's war in Gaza, launched after the October 7, 2023, attack inside Israel, has killed more than 41,900 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the territory. The UN has said the figures are reliable.
The resulting conflict has spilled into Lebanon, with intensifying air strikes and Israeli troops battling Hezbollah on the ground. Israel's bombardment of Lebanon has killed more than 1,100 people and displaced upwards of a million in less than two weeks.
DESTRUCTION
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the people of Lebanon they could face "destruction and suffering" like the Palestinians in war-battered Gaza if they don't "free" the country from Hezbollah. "You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza," Netanyahu said in a video address directed to the people of Lebanon. — Agencies
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