Trudeau urges Canadians to leave Lebanon, citing 'real' risk of escalation

OTTAWA (Reuters) - There is a real risk of escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and Canadians should leave Lebanon while possible because Ottawa may not be able to evacuate everyone if the situation worsens, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.

"We see that the risk of escalation is real, the challenges in the region are significant," Trudeau told reporters in Ontario. "We are making certain preparations to be able to support in the event that everything gets much, much worse, but the situation is so difficult that we may not be able to get all Canadians out."

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa)