China has urged its citizens in Israel to leave “as soon as possible”, as tensions between Israel and Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah escalate, Paralel.Az reports citing The Straits Times.

“Currently, the situation along the Israel-Lebanon border is extremely tense, with frequent military conflicts,” China’s embassy in Israel said in a statement on Sept 22.

“The security situation in Israel remains severe, complex and unpredictable,” the statement added.

The embassy urged Chinese citizens in Israel to “return home or relocate to safer areas as soon as possible”.

Israel and Hezbollah threatened on Sept 22 to escalate their cross-border attacks despite international calls for both sides to step back from the brink of all-out war.

An Israeli air strike in a densely populated Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut on Sept 20 killed the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil.

It came after a series of coordinated communications device blasts on Sept 17 and Sept 18 across Lebanon that killed 39 people and wounded almost 3,000, and which were blamed on Israel.

China in August asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave after an Israeli strike in the country killed a senior Palestinian militant.