WASHINGTON, October 23. /TASS/. US authorities have recommended their citizens in Lebanon to "leave now, due to the unpredictable security situation" in a statement published by the US Department of State.

"The Department of State urges US citizens not to travel to Lebanon. We recommend that US citizens in Lebanon make appropriate arrangements to leave the country; commercial options currently remain available. We recommend that US citizens who choose not to depart prepare contingency plans for emergency situations," the statement said.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.