Lara Salameh was supposed to be flying out of Beirut Thursday en route to Montreal with her husband and two daughters, but the night before, their flight was cancelled. She said Air France told her service out of the Lebanese capital was suspended because of the unstable security situation B次元官网网址� one that Ottawa has been warning Canadians about as fears of war between Israel and Hezbollah grow.
Salameh is one of the 21,399 Canadians registered as being in Lebanon, a country the Canadian government is urging its citizens to leave. It says they canB次元官网网址檛 rely on government evacuation flights if war engulfs Lebanon.
Canada has been planning since October for a possible evacuation of its citizens and sent military personnel to Lebanon and Cyprus in preparation.
Salameh hopes that her rescheduled flight on Aug. 10 will take off as planned, but she has no regrets. Travelling to her native country is more than a vacation, she said in an interview Thursday from Beirut. It is a chance for her children to spend time with their elderly grandparents, some of whom are ill.
B次元官网网址淲e expected that we might get stuck here, but we came anyways for family,B次元官网网址漷he Laval-Que. resident said, adding that the turmoil in the Middle East did make her hesitate before booking the trip this year.
B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 leave your parents. TheyB次元官网网址檙e getting old and we need to see them.B次元官网网址�
The fear that her young daughters might witness violence does cause some concern, she said, but so far she has not personally seen any sign of conflict. If the situation does sour, she said, she can take refuge with family who live in the northern part of the country.
Foreign Affairs Minister M茅lanie Joly has urged Canadians in the country to fly back to Canada immediately.
B次元官网网址淚f you are in Lebanon, come back home. If tensions escalate, the situation on the ground may not allow us to help you, and you wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to leave,B次元官网网址� Joly posted on X on Wednesday. The Canadian government noted that some airlines have already suspended service to Beirut. B次元官网网址淎dditional travel disruptions are likely, including airspace closures and flight cancellations and diversions,B次元官网网址� it said on X.
HezbollahB次元官网网址檚 leader warned Thursday that the conflict with Israel has entered a B次元官网网址渘ew phase,B次元官网网址� as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut. Israel alleges the commander was behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, but Hezbollah has denied the charge.
Not all Canadians in Lebanon are scrambling to get back, however.
Stephani Moukhaiber was born in Lebanon and returned there from Montreal last year after being laid off from her job. She said Thursday she has no intention of fleeing Lebanon, even as tensions rise.
Moukhaiber is a Canadian citizen, and she has been receiving regular messages from the Canadian government warning her to leave while flights are still available. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not going to lie. I did have a moment of insecurity where I was like, B次元官网网址榊eah, maybe I should go back,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said in a phone interview.
But she said the atmosphere where she lives in the mountains outside Beirut is calm, in part because locals have lived through many conflicts in recent decades, including a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
And Moukhaiber, who traces some of her roots to the Palestinian territories, cannot forgive Canada for its stance in the Israel-Hamas war. She said she does not want to return to Canada because she feels the country is not doing enough to stop Gazans from being killed.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 rather be here in a state of war than be in a country that doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe in my existence or (my) right to exist,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址� With files from The Associated Press
Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press
