Canada secures limited seats on commercial flights from Lebanon as conflict widens

The federal government has secured "a limited number of seats" on commercial flights out of Lebanon for Canadians trying to flee the region, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday.

Anand said 103,000 people have registered with Global Affairs Canada in the Middle East and Gulf region.

The Canadian government is not offering assisted departures from the region.

"Canadians in the region should prepare departure plans that do not rely solely on Government of Canada assistance," Anand said during a media scrum in Ottawa. "Global Affairs Canada is not currently offering assisted departures, but we are in touch with our partners to identify potential options."

The minister said commercial flights are still operating out of Lebanon, which could be an option for people looking to get out of the country.

Some commercial options are also currently available elsewhere in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Oman, but airspace in others, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, are closed.

Israel's ministry of tourism is operating buses to the border with Egypt and Anand said Global Affairs is communicating these options to people registered in the region.

Canadians are being advised to avoid all travel to a number of countries in the region as the U.S.-Iran conflict widens.

Anand said Canada has added diplomatic staff in neighbouring countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Jordan and Turkey.

Israel's military ordered residents in dozens of southern Lebanon border villages to evacuate immediately on Wednesday as airstrikes on Beirut suburbs intensified and Hezbollah claimed more attacks.

Lebanon was dragged early Monday into the war in the Middle East — which erupted following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran — when Hezbollah fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, triggering Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on different parts of the country. Those retaliatory strikes killed more than 50 people, wounded about 300 and displaced tens of thousands from southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Israeli authorities and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in late 2024 after the Iranian-backed militant group started firing at Israel in response to the war in Gaza.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang