Countries rush to evacuate citizens from Lebanon
ANKARA
Türkiye has finalized its preparations for evacuation operations from Lebanon, Turkish defense sources said on Oct. 3, with a growing number of countries planning flights to extricate their citizens amid Israel’s ground incursion into its northern neighbors’ territory.
Tel Aviv’s ground operation into Lebanon and Iran’s retaliatory missile attack on Israel fueled tension in the Middle East, prompting countries to launch evacuation operations.
"The Turkish Armed Forces have completed the planning and preparations for the safe evacuation of our citizens and foreign nationals from Lebanon. Should the evacuation be initiated, the relevant authorities of our state will provide the necessary announcements," the sources stated.
The Defense Ministry is closely monitoring developments in Lebanon in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, they added.
In a report on Oct. 3, daily Milliyet, citing sources, revealed that there are approximately 13,000 officially registered Turkish nationals in Lebanon, though the actual number is estimated to be around 27,000 when unregistered individuals are accounted for.
The report highlighted that some of these citizens are of Arab descent and have been residing in Lebanon for decades, noting that the scope of the evacuation will depend on the number of those willing to depart the country. Türkiye is prepared to carry out the evacuation by both sea and land routes, it added.
Alongside Türkiye, several nations unveiled their evacuation endeavors as the media reported heightened tension amid the first reported clashes in Lebanon’s south.
The United States organized a flight from Beirut to Istanbul to facilitate the departure of a group of Americans.
The initial flight carrying approximately 100 of its citizens would depart Beirut for Istanbul, from where they would embark on the onward journey to the U.S.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that 7,000 Americans have registered with the government for information on leaving Lebanon, although not all are seeking to depart.
“Not all of those are looking for assistance to leave, but we ask people to register with us for more information,” he said.
Similarly, Australia, Japan, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada and the Netherlands intensified their efforts, while South Korea declared it will evacuate its citizens from both Lebanon and Israel.
Greece will lend Greek Cyprus a C-130 military aircraft to help evacuate Greek Cypriot nationals from Lebanon, with two more such planes at the ready.
Athens is also considering deploying troops to help bring Greeks living in Lebanon back to Greece.
An estimated 23,000 French passport holders are in Lebanon and France sent one of its three amphibious assault ships to the eastern Mediterranean, which it will take five to six days to reach from Toulon.
Britain has chartered a commercial flight for its nationals that will depart from Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport. Germany flew out its Beirut embassy's non-essential staff, their dependents and some of its citizens in Lebanon with medical conditions. About 110 passengers boarded the German air force A321 jet.
Israel's continuing air strikes have already forced as many as 1 million people from their homes across Lebanon, according to official figures.
