TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN and Taoiseach Simon Harris have urged people not to travel to Israel after recent assassinations of the country’s enemies have ramped up expectations of a wider regional war.

In recent weeks, Israel has assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ political leader while he was visiting the Iranian capital Tehran. These moves have alarmed many observers who worry that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip may break out into a larger war. 

Israel has launched attacks in Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Yemen since the latest Gaza war broke out. 

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in low-intensity crossborder fighting since the Hamas-led attacks against Israel last October, with the Lebanese group promising to support their allies in Gaza, where the Israeli siege, bombardment and invasion that followed have now killed at least 39,683 people. 

The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week was yet another escalation on the part of the Israelis and dealt a major blow to the stop-start ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Iran has promised to avenge the killing of its ally on Iranian soil, which was seen as a major provocation of one of the region’s most powerful states. 

“No one has the right to doubt Iran’s legal right to punish the Zionist regime”, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told a regular news conference, referring to Israel.

In a post on social media today, Martin, who is also the Minister for Defence, urged Irish citizens not to travel to Israel and reminded people of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ already issued advice against travelling to neighbouring Lebanon. 

The Taoiseach followed up with a post of his own, saying: “Our travel advice for Israel has changed due to growing instability in the region.”

Over the last few months, numerous countries have issued similar advice to their citizens regarding Lebanon. The United States has moved more warships into the area since the latest Israeli attacks against their neighbours. 

We have updated our travel
advice for Israel.

I urge citizens to avoid all travel to Israel at this time.

I also remind citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon.

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) August 5, 2024

On the Department’s website, the advice for those considering trips to Israel or Palestine reads simply: “Do not travel.” 

“The security situation across both Israel and Palestine remains tense and unpredictable, with the potential for intense escalation,” the Department’s travel advice section said.  

“Please continue to exercise caution, monitor local media regularly, follow the advice of local authorities, and observe any additional security measures imposed during this time.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk today called for an urgent de-escalation in the Middle East.

“I am deeply worried about the rising risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East and plead with all parties, along with those states with influence, to act urgently to de-escalate what has become a very precarious situation,” said Turk in a statement.

“Everything, and I mean everything, must be done to avoid this situation spiralling further into an abyss that will only have even more terrible consequences for civilians.”

With reporting from AFP