State Department Issues A “Worldwide Alert”

This week, the U.S. State Department put out a “worldwide caution” travel alert, telling Americans to be careful in many places where there are higher risks of terrorist strikes along with other dangerous situations.

“Because of rising tensions in many places around the world and the chance of terrorist attacks, protests, or other acts of violence against U.S. citizens and interests, the Dept. of State advises U.S. citizens traveling abroad to be more careful,” the warning says.

Following the assassination of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, US authorities last issued the unusual advisory in August 2022, alerting the public to the possibility that “supporters of al-Qa’ida, including its associated terrorist organizations, could be planning to attack United States facilities, employees, or citizens.”

Due to the fact that close family members of government employees and some non-emergency workers are allowed to leave Lebanon on an individual basis, the State Dept. raised its travel warning for Lebanon to “Level 4: Do Not Travel” this week.

The warning says, “Don’t travel to Lebanon because the security situation is unstable due to the exchange of rockets, missiles, and artillery involving Israel and Hizballah or additional armed militant groups. Because of the armed war, criminality, abduction, terrorism, civil upheaval, and Embassy Beirut’s restricted ability to assist American citizens, it is advisable to reconsider traveling to Lebanon.”

A number of nations have issued evacuation orders to their people in Lebanon in response to an increase in assaults by a terrorist group with Iranian support on Israel’s northern border.

Officials in Israel are worried that Hezbollah, which is thought to have around 20,000 soldiers, is getting ready to attack Israel from the north. The terrorist group has approximately 150,000 rockets, which is a lot more than what Hamas used in their latest rocket strikes.

The US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Germany, France, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Spain, and Australia are among the countries that have told their people to leave Lebanon.

Reports say that the United States embassy in Lebanon stated, “Terrorist groups are still planning potential terrorist attacks in Lebanon.” This means that attacks could happen “with little to no warning and also target tourist spots, transportation centers, markets/shopping malls, in addition to local government buildings.”

This week, demonstrators in the nations of Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Tunisia held violent protests outside the embassies of Israel, France, and the United States in response to the debunking of reports by legacy media outlets claiming that an Israeli airstrike killed approximately 500 individuals inside a Gaza hospital.

USA Today reports that over 300 demonstrators with Jewish Voice for Peace along with IfNotNow were taken into custody this week in Washington, D.C., for crowding, blocking, or making it difficult to move in a restricted area inside of a United States House office building on Capitol Hill. Since then, Capitol Police have given tickets to and released all of those who were held.