South Korea’s foreign ministry “strongly advised” its nationals in Lebanon and Israel to leave as soon as possible because of escalating tensions in the Middle East, Reuters reports.
The travel advisory was issued after a commander of the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah and the head of the political wing of Hamas, the group that runs the Gaza Strip, were killed, Lee Jae-woong, a ministry spokesperson said.
The assassinations came after a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights late last month.
“South Korea’s government…hopes that diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions such as negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release will not stop,” Lee told a briefing.
More than 500 South Korean nationals are currently residing in Israel and around 120 in Lebanon as of Tuesday, according to the ministry.
