The Government of Malawi says it is monitoring the situation in Israel where war between the country and Iran has escalated before taking appropriate decisions on its citizens in the MiddleEast.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Mwaiwawo Polepole, told Zodiak Sunday that Lilongwe is on the look out, advising the Malawian diplomats and diaspora in Israel to adhere to the guidelines from the Israeli government under the current state of emergency as a safety measure.

Polepole said "Israel declared a state of emergency banning education activities, gatherings and workplaces operations except for essential sectors besides closing the airspace prior to the launch of the war."

Polepole said the Government of Israel, through the Home Front Command, is also providing guidelines or instructions in case of drone or missile attacks from Iran, with alerts for people to seek shelter in protected areas.

Meanwhile, a human rights advocate, Robert Mkwezalamba, said currently Israel is prioritizing safety of its citizens, therefore the government should establish a database for all Malawians in Israel and the embassy communication line for them to report to authorities if need arises for evacuation.

"We need to have the database to establish as to how many Malawian are there; those who went there on their own and under the government programs. And then they should be able to indicate how accessible are the government facilities or officers to see if these Malawians are free to communicate to the Malawi embassy, and everything like that," he suggested.

He added, "It is important to appreciate if Malawians are able to follow guidelines  from Israel, there is need to set up an emergency line for them to report to the embassy, so that there are evacuations if there is an imminent danger."

Many Malawians are in Israel for studies and others working in farms under the labour export programme.

Some four days ago, Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, named Operation Rising Lion, in response to the escalating and imminent threat posed by the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons ambitions and regional aggression. 

Subsequently, the Iran also launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and currently the war continues.