The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday called on French nationals not to travel “in the coming days” to Iran, Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. The Quai d'Orsay is following the evolution of the situation "with great attention" and will "adapt" its messages accordingly.
French expatriates living in the territories concerned do not currently recommend returning to France. The United States announced on Thursday that it was restricting the movements of its diplomatic personnel in Israel out of concern for security. Lebanese Hezbollah, supported by Iran, announced Friday that it had launched “dozens of rockets” at Israeli positions, in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon. Tehran has promised a response to the strike attributed to Israel against the Iranian consulate in Damascus which, according to an NGO, left 16 dead, including two generals of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army. At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, the Israeli army indicated that alerts sounded around the Gaza Strip while Islamic Jihad, the second largest Palestinian Islamist group after Hamas, simultaneously claimed responsibility.