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The US embassy in Lebanon is calling on Americans to leave the country immediately after Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at northern Israel.

Getting into it: In an advisory, the embassy said US citizens should “depart Lebanon now while commercial flight options remain available,” warning that the security situation is “volatile and unpredictable.” It urged Americans to monitor flights and said that flights could be canceled “at any time.” The embassy added that it has “no ability” to assist US citizens who remain in the country and instructed them not to come to the embassy, advising them to be prepared to“shelter in place should the situation deteriorate.” The embassy also “strongly” encouraged Americans in southern Lebanon, near the Syrian border, in refugee settlements, and in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood to leave “immediately.”

The warning followed Hezbollah’s announcement that it had launched “a barrage of rockets and a swarm of drones” toward northern Israel, including near Haifa, describing the attack as retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader. Israel responded with a shitload of airstrikes, saying it was “vigorously attacking Hezbollah” targets across Lebanon and had “precisely struck senior Hezbollah terrorists” in Beirut, along with “dozens” of command centers and weapons storage sites. The Israeli military later said it killed Hussein Makled, identified as the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, in a “precise strike in Beirut,” and also targeted other senior operatives.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 31 people were killed and 149 injured in the Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized the rocket fire from Lebanese territory, saying it was “not a defense of Lebanon nor a protection of the Lebanese; it is not acceptable in any way whatsoever, and it gives Israel a pretext to destroy what is left.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the Hezbollah attack “an irresponsible and suspicious act that jeopardises Lebanon’s security and safety and provides Israel with pretexts to continue its aggression,” stressing that “the decision of war and peace rests exclusively with the state.”

In an unprecedented move, Lebanon’s Cabinet declared Hezbollah’s military activities illegal and demanded the immediate handover of its weapons, formally rejecting “any military or security operations carried out from Lebanese territory outside the authority of the state.” Salam said the government does not seek confrontation with Hezbollah, “but we cannot in any way accept the launching of rockets from Lebanon nor the threat of civil war.”

As of now, Hezbollah has not formally commented on the Lebanese government’s demands, though it has previously argued that its actions are in “defence of Lebanon and its people” and in response to “repeated Israeli aggressions.”