Nearly 200 Koreans ignore travel warning to attend religious event in Israel

Approximately 180 Koreans entered Israel to attend a religious event, sources said Monday, amid escalating tensions following a major missile exchange in the region.

A view shows smoke and fire on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel after Israel said it had detected the armed group Hezbollah preparing to attack Israel and had carried out pre-emptive strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Approximately 180 Koreans entered Israel to attend a religious event, sources said Monday, amid escalating tensions following a major missile exchange in the region.

This influx has raised the number of Koreans in Israel from about 500 to approximately 680 as of Monday, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Additionally, about 90 Koreans reside in Lebanon and 100 in Iran.

The Korean government strongly urged its citizens in Israel to leave the country as soon as possible and advised the religious organization in question to consider departing through both direct and indirect channels.

No Korean nationals have been reported killed or wounded so far.

Tensions in the region have heightened after the Israeli military launched what it calls pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon, deploying around 100 jets on Sunday, which led to retaliatory actions from Lebanon's Hezbollah.

A Level 4 travel ban, the highest on Korea's four-level travel warning system, has been issued for the northern border region of Israel and southern Lebanon, approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) and 5 kilometers from the Blue Line, respectively.

The rest of Israel and Lebanon are currently under a Level 3 travel alert, advising citizens to depart these countries.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]