Paris, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 4th Oct, 2024) Russia, France, Spain and Greece on Thursday became the latest countries to launch operations to remove nationals from Lebanon since Israel launched ground raids into its neighbour and Iran fired missiles at Israel.
Here is what we know about the effort to transport thousands of foreign nationals out of Lebanon:
– Russia –
Moscow has evacuated 60 dependents of Russian diplomats posted in Lebanon due to Israel’s heavy bombardment on its neighbour, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
An emergency situations ministry aeroplane took off from Beirut on Thursday on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, the ministry wrote on Telegram.
– France –
French nationals were flown from Lebanon to Paris on two commercial flights operated by Lebanese carrier middle East Airlines, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
French authorities had reserved 200 seats for its citizens with health conditions as well as elderly or isolated individuals.
An estimated 24,000 French passport holders, mainly dual nationals, are in Lebanon.
France on Monday sent an amphibious assault ship to the eastern Mediterranean, should Paris decide a wider evacuation, a high-ranking officer told AFP.
– Germany –
Germany pulled 241 people out of Lebanon on two air force flights on Monday and Wednesday, the government said.
Its Beirut embassy’s non-essential workers, their dependents, some citizens with medical conditions, and members of German organisations, were among the passengers.
The Beirut embassy remained operational to help the estimated 1,800 German citizens in Lebanon “in their departure via commercial flights and other means”, the government said.
– The Netherlands –
The Dutch government has announced it will fly a military plane to Beirut to repatriate Dutch — with the first evacuation planned on Friday and a second expected on Saturday.
The foreign ministry has said around 300 Dutch people have registered for evacuation.
– Greece –
Greece on Thursday sent Cyprus a C-130 military aircraft to evacuate dozens of Greek and Cypriot nationals from Lebanon with two more planes on standby, its defence minister said.
A total of 38 Cyprus and 22 Greek nationals were “successfully” evacuated, Nikos Dendias wrote on X.
Around 3,500 Greek nationals live in Lebanon, in addition to another 1,000 dependants, state broadcaster ERT said.
– Spain –
A first military aeroplane brought just over 200 Spanish citizens to Madrid from Beirut just after 5:00 pm, the defence ministry announced on X.
It said a second group of Spanish citizens had also arrived in Madrid aboard another military plane.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles had on Wednesday said that Spain would “in principle” evacuate around 350 people out of Beirut.
The foreign ministry said that the “evacuation operation is finished and has been successful”, adding that 200 Spaniards, 40 Lebanese and citizens from Argentina, Britain, France, Italy, Venezuela and the US were also aboard.
– Moldova –
The Moldovan foreign ministry on Wednesday announced “the successful evacuation” from Lebanon of 11 Moldovans, mostly children, with the support of Ukraine and the International Organisation for Migration.
– Britain –
Britain on Wednesday chartered a commercial flight for its nationals from Beirut airport, prioritising vulnerable nationals. The UK government has said further flights could be arranged if needed.
Last week, London announced the deployment of 700 soldiers to Cyprus to prepare for a possible evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon.
– Canada –
Canada has reserved 800 seats on commercial planes to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon. About 45,000 Canadians are currently in Lebanon.
The Canadian military has set up emergency resources in Cyprus if commercial flights are interrupted.
– Refugees –
The United Nations Refugee agency said on Monday around 100,000 people had fled to Syria from Lebanon due to Israeli air strikes.
The UNHCR representative in Syria said most evacuees were women and children. Around 80 percent were Syrian nationals and 20 percent Lebanese.
Some 210,000 Palestinian refugees live in camps and informal settlements in Lebanon, according to the UN children’s agency UNICEF.
