A man cleans debris from a vehicle damaged during fighting between rival Palestinian factions on August 1, 2023 in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, South Lebanon. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
BEIRUT — Available intelligence indicates that the security situation in Lebanon "does not warrant concern and panic," the country's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement Saturday, following Saudi Arabia's call that its citizens leave Lebanese territory quickly.
"Based on research with the military and security chiefs, the available data indicated that the security situation, in general, does not justify concern and panic, and that political and security contacts dealing with the events in Ain al-Hilweh camp have made strides forward," the premier said in a statement, adding that "matters are being closely followed-up to ensure general stability and to prevent disruption of security or threats to citizens, residents, and Arab and foreign tourists."
Saudi Arabia called on its citizens to quickly leave Lebanese territory and to avoid approaching areas where there have been armed clashes, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon said in a statement posted late Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Gulf kingdom did not specify which areas in Lebanon it was advising its citizens to avoid.
The embassy stressed "the importance of adhering to Saudi's Lebanon travel ban," the statement added.
Kuwait also issued an advisory early Saturday calling on Kuwaitis in Lebanon to remain vigilant and to avoid "areas experiencing security disturbances" but stopped short of asking them to leave the country, according to a statement by the Kuwaiti Foreign ministry posted on X.
On Aug. 1, the United Kingdom also updated its travel advice for Lebanon, advising against "all but essential travel" to parts of southern Lebanon, near the Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh.
Mikati assigned Lebanon's Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to communicate with the country's "Arab brothers to reassure them of the safety of their citizens in Lebanon."
He also called on Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to convene the Central Security Council "to discuss the challenges that Lebanon may face in these tense regional conditions, and to take appropriate decisions to maintain security in all regions."
At least 13 people, most of them militants, were killed in fighting that erupted between the camp's mainstream faction Fatah and hardline Islamists on July 29, camp security sources said.
Ain al-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon, which hosts around 80,000 of the country's estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA, the United Nations' agency for refugees from Palestine.
Around 350 families have fled the fighting to Saida, adjacent the camp.
A ceasefire was announced Monday evening but has been repeatedly violated.
A precarious calm prevailed in the camp Thursday, while an afternoon meeting was organized at the Palestinian Embassy in Beirut between various Palestinian factions in an attempt to enforce the ceasefire.
The densely populated camp is the scene of regular clashes due to personal disputes and tension among various Palestinian factions. Saturday's clashes were the deadliest in several years.