South Korea said on Tuesday it will issue a ban on its citizens travelling to the border areas of Israel and Lebanon after advising them to leave the countries amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The foreign ministry said the ban will start from Wednesday in areas near the Blue Line, referring to a demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel where parts of the international border are disputed.
The ministry also "strongly advised" its nationals in Lebanon and Israel to leave the countries as soon as possible.
A temporary advisory urging against travel to Iran was also set to be issued, the ministry said in a statement.
The travel advisory was issued after a commander of the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah and the head of the political wing of Hamas, the group that runs the Gaza Strip, were killed, Lee Jae-woong, a ministry spokesperson said.
The assassinations came after a deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights late last month.
"South Korea's government...hopes that diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions such as negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release will not stop," Lee told a briefing.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.Washington has been urging other countries through diplomatic channels to tell Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in their interest, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday.
More than 500 South Korean nationals are currently residing in Israel and around 120 in Lebanon, the ministry said. It warned that South Koreans travelling to the border areas could be subject to punishment under the passport law.
As of last summer at least four South Koreans had been convicted of violating a ban on travelling to Ukraine without permission, according to media reports.
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