It did not take long after the Israeli assassinations of top Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran for countries in the West to warn their citizens against traveling to Lebanon, and those already there to leave as soon as possible.

On July 31, the same day that Haniyeh was killed, the United States and several other countries put it plainly: Do not travel to Lebanon. On top of that, it strongly urged those in the country to get the earliest flight out, even offering loans to citizens who could not afford to pay for the tickets but wanted to leave.

However, even as Hezbollah and Iran were promising severe retaliation against Israel for killing the two leaders, the travel advisories for Israel remained the same, only urging citizens to reconsider travel or travel with extreme caution, even as airlines were canceling flights to and from Lebanon and Israel.

In searching the travel advisories issued by several Western countries – the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Canada – L’Orient Today found that all of them list Lebanon as a country to be avoided while, – with the exception of Canada, which gave Israel the same travel advisory as Lebanon – they listed Israel with a “lighter” travel advisory.

According to several experts in international relations, this is due to a mix of logistical and political considerations.

“While the protection of citizens is a priority, these advisories can also be influenced by political factors,” Imad Salamey, an associate professor for political science and international relations at the Lebanese American University, told L’Orient Today.

“For instance, a government might use travel warnings as a tool to exert pressure on a particular country or to shape public perception in line with its foreign policy objectives.”

Nowhere to go

In terms of ensuring the safety of its citizens, countries need to take in a multitude of factors ranging from the likelihood of war breaking out, the infrastructure in place to keep people safe and, as a last resort, if their citizens have a way to flee the country should a war begin.

This is where Lebanon and Israel differ drastically.

Israel’s medical services, from civil defense to hospitals, are much more modern and well-funded than their Lebanese counterparts which, while providing life-saving care, cannot do as much as Israel – such as providing emergency helicopters to airlift the wounded to a hospital far from the battlefield.

In addition to this, medics in Lebanon have repeatedly come under fire from Israel while trying to gain access to a bombing location, making the chances of any wounded individuals surviving even smaller.

Israel also has more international airports than Lebanon that could be used to evacuate people.

Lebanon only has one public airport — the Rafic Hariri International Airport — whereas Israel has five, with Ben Gurion International Airport being the main port of entry and exit.

During the July 2006 war, after Israel bombed Beirut’s airport, it was nearly impossible for people to leave the country, forcing many countries to take on the laborious and expensive task of using boats to extract their citizens.

Meanwhile, in Israel, people could go to the airport normally – albeit while exercising extreme caution.

Even in the event that all of Israel’s airports were hit and were put out of service, Israel also shares land borders with Jordan and Egypt, both countries that enjoy friendly relations with the West and could provide safe passage if needed.

On the other hand, Lebanon only shares borders with Syria and Israel. Lebanese citizens could pass into Syria – something that some have already started to do so that they could catch a flight from the Jordanian capital Amman, but Americans and other Westerners would be unable to cross into Syria due to the current diplomatic relations between Syria and the West. This would leave taking a boat to Cyprus as their only available option – a tactic already being utilized by people with more money.

Despite these differences, Hezbollah’s military capabilities allow it to strike practically anywhere in Israel, raising the question as to why Western countries believe Israel is safer than Lebanon.

“The nature and extent of these advisories are questionable. While some precautions are justified, there is a tendency for these measures to be influenced by political motives, which can lead to advisories that are more severe than the situation warrants,” Salamey explained.

Playing politics?

Since the start of the war in Gaza, western countries have continued to insist that Israel has the “right to defend itself” even as the death toll in Gaza nears 40,000, most of whom are civilians according to various international organizations.

Even as much of the world condemned multiple instances in which Israeli bombings led killed dozens of Palestinians, its greatest ally the United States remained mute.

A large part of this is due to the geopolitical relations between the West and Israel. Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, argues that “western countries treat Israel as a special case.”

“What applies to other countries does not apply to Israel,” he told L’Orient Today.

Part of this is due to the presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is designated as a terrorist organization, in part or its entirety, by various Western nations.

Consequently, Khashan said, the West and in particular the United States, “treat Lebanon like a pariah state” and try to maintain their distance. This influences how countries like the U.S. issue travel advisories.

Because of “Hezbollah's fight against Israel [from Lebanon], is often subjected to harsher advisories. Israel, on the other hand, despite facing significant threats, is seen as a more stable ally, leading to less severe warnings,” Salamey said.

The need for Western nations to convey a sense of ‘normalcy' in Israel, a key regional ally, also plays a role in a country’s decision when issuing travel advisories.

While Iran-backed groups like Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces or PMF) in Iraq have demonstrated their abilities to strike major cities in Israel like Tel Aviv, the relationship between the West and Israel works to prevent any embarrassment of the U.S. having to warn its citizens from traveling to Israel for any reason.

“The advisory aims to maintain a sense of normalcy and support for Israel, even when certain areas are under threat,” Salamey said. “This contrasts with the more severe warnings for Lebanon, which may be intended to apply pressure on the country due to its association with Hezbollah and other groups seen as adversaries by the U.S.”

During the July 2006 war, the U.S. State Department put out travel advisories warning Americans to avoid travel to Lebanon and to evacuate if they could. When it came to Israel, though, the State Department stopped short of telling its citizens to avoid traveling and instead issued a broader statement about the instability in the region, specifically mentioning Lebanon, Gaza and Israel, and told American citizens to exercise caution if traveling in the region.

While a full-scale conflict remains unlikely, Khashan said that, if one were to occur, the way that the West handles travel advisories to Lebanon and Israel would likely follow a similar pattern to what they did in 2006.

When asked about the discrepancies between the travel advisories between Lebanon and Israel, a spokesperson from the French Foreign Ministry told L’Orient Today, “We are closely monitoring developments in the Middle East. Our travel advice is constantly updated for each country.”

A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Beirut told L’Orient Today, “The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) keeps its Travel Advice under regular review to ensure that our published guidance for British Nationals is up-to-date and reflective of the local context.”

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and the Australian Foreign Ministry did not provide a statement when asked for comment.