Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know

Israel launched a ground offensive in Lebanon on Tuesday, escalating the conflict with Hezbollah after a week of airstrikes that killed hundreds.

Several countries have started or plan to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon.

– Britain –

Britain has chartered a commercial flight for its citizens that will take off from Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday.

The UK government has said further flights may be arranged depending on demand.

He said he would prioritize “vulnerable British citizens” on Wednesday’s flight.

Last week, London announced the deployment of 700 troops to Cyprus to prepare for a possible evacuation of citizens from Lebanon.

– Canada –

Canada has reserved 800 seats on commercial planes to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon. The next flight is scheduled for Tuesday.

There are currently approximately 45,000 Canadians in Lebanon.

The Canadian military has established emergency measures in Cyprus in case commercial flights are interrupted.

– Germany –

On Monday, Germany flew non-essential embassy staff in Beirut, their dependents and some citizens with medical conditions from Lebanon.

About 110 passengers boarded the German Air Force A321 aircraft, which landed in Berlin late in the evening.

The embassy in Beirut continued to work to help an estimated 1,800 German nationals in Lebanon “with departure on commercial flights and otherwise,” the government said.

“We are currently at the stage where we support the departure (of citizens), but we clearly do not foresee an evacuation scenario,” the government spokesman said on Monday.

– Japan –

Japan is urging its citizens to leave Lebanon on commercial flights and is preparing military flights for their possible return, the government said on Friday.

C-2 military transport planes have been ordered to Jordan and Greece, where they are on standby in case Japanese nationals need to be transported from the region.

Japanese media report that there are currently about 50 Japanese citizens in Lebanon.

– Philippines –

Last week, the Philippines promised to evacuate 11,000 citizens from Lebanon as Israeli forces crossed the border to launch a ground offensive.

“A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said on Friday, adding that the plan is to resettle thousands of people from the country by sea.

He did not provide details.

Manila had previously urged Filipinos to leave Lebanon before commercial airlines stopped flying to Beirut.

Millions of Filipinos work in the Middle East. About 90 percent of Lebanon’s population are women home workers.

– Portugal –

On Saturday evening, Portugal evacuated 44 people from Lebanon – 28 citizens and their families – by military plane via Cyprus.

– Bulgaria –

A total of 89 Bulgarians evacuated from Lebanon – mostly families with children – arrived in Sofia late Monday. The government plane is expected to make its second flight on Tuesday.

According to Deputy Foreign Minister Elena Shekerletova, about 400 Bulgarians live in Lebanon, of which 160 have so far declared their willingness to evacuate the country.

– Refugees –

The United Nations Refugee Agency said on Monday that about 100,000 people had fled Lebanon to Syria as a result of Israeli airstrikes.

The UNHCR representative in Syria said most of the evacuees were women and children. About 80 percent were Syrian citizens and 20 percent Lebanese.

According to the UN children’s agency UNICEF, about 210,000 Palestinian refugees live in camps and informal settlements in Lebanon.

An Israeli airstrike hit a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing several residents, the official Lebanese National News Agency reported.

burs/jhb