Day 265 of the Israel-Hamas war: What is happening in Gaza?

Germany and the Netherlands followed Canada’s example and called on their citizens to leave Lebanon, fearing a full-scale war with Israel.

“German citizens are urgently requested to leave Lebanon,” the country’s embassy in Lebanon warned on its website. It pointed out that in such a situation, air traffic could be suspended and leaving the country might not be possible.

Third Lebanon War

During Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant’s visit to Washington on Wednesday, the United States worked to prevent a third Lebanon war.

“We are trying to prevent the emergence of a second front,” US National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Gallant on Wednesday to discuss the issue after speaking with U.S. Secretary of State Lloyd Austin on Tuesday. Sullivan reiterated the U.S.’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, including in the face of threats from Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah,” his office said.

The two men discussed “ongoing U.S. efforts to support de-escalation and a diplomatic resolution to ongoing hostilities in Lebanon that would ensure the return of both Israeli and Lebanese families to their homes in the border region,” his office added.

Gallant’s office said they also discussed “the important cooperation between Israel and the United States in the face of Iranian aggression and its nuclear ambitions.”

There are serious concerns that the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which began after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and which is primarily about cross-border violence, could escalate and lead to a regional war in which Iran would also be actively involved.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Israel on Monday and Beirut on Tuesday to understand and describe the situation. “With every rocket that crosses the Blue Line between (Lebanon and Israel), the danger grows that a miscalculation could trigger a hot war from one moment to the next. All those who bear responsibility must exercise the utmost restraint,” she wrote on X from Beirut.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country stands in solidarity with Lebanon amid growing tensions with Israel and called on countries in the region on Wednesday to support Beirut.

In a speech to members of his AK Party, Erdogan claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning to expand the Gaza war to the entire region. “It seems that after destroying and burning the Gaza Strip, Israel is now turning its attention to Lebanon. We see how Western countries are supporting Israel behind the scenes,” Erdogan said.

“Netanyahu’s plans to expand the war to the region will lead to a major disaster,” he said, adding that Western support for Israel was “pathetic.”

“Turkey stands with the brotherly people and state of Lebanon. I call on other countries in the region to stand in solidarity with Lebanon,” he said.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded in a post on X that Erdogan was “a war criminal who is slaughtering innocent Kurds across the Syrian border and trying to deny Israel its right to self-defense against a terrorist organization that is attacking from Lebanon on Iran’s orders.”

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, commenting on tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, said the Turkish government saw the danger of the conflict escalating.

When asked about the threat posed to Cyprus by Hezbollah – the EU member state closest to Lebanon – Fidan called on Cyprus to “stay out” of the conflict.

Turkish intelligence reports indicate that Cyprus has become a base for military and reconnaissance flights by “certain countries” over Gaza, Fidan said in an interview with the private television channel Haberturk.

Cyprus has said it is “in no way involved in the conflict.” It has urged its EU partners to offer financial assistance to Lebanon and recently established a maritime corridor to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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