White House urges Americans to leave Lebanon while travel available

American citizens in Lebanon should leave now while flights are still available, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday, Reuters has reported.

Kirby made his comment after Israeli air strikes had already killed nearly 560 Lebanese in less than two days, including dozens of children and women.

“We want to make sure that there are still commercial options available for Americans to leave, and they should be leaving now while those options are available,” Kirby told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” programme. He added that US officials have been in constant contact with their Israeli counterparts.

The Biden administration continues to support the occupation state with billions of dollars’ worth of arms supplies, even as bombards Lebanon and continues to carry out its genocide of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. At least 41,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, mainly children and women, and a further 96,000 have been wounded. An estimated 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel.

The belligerent apartheid state stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, a charge which it denies. Moreover, the ICJ ruled in July that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is illegal and the UN General Assembly voted overwhelming earlier this month to demand that Israel should end its occupation within twelve months.

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