Türkiye evacuates 2,120 people from 22 countries from Lebanon
Civilians, the majority of whom are Turkish citizens, including the elderly, disabled, and children, are being evacuated from Lebanon by amphibious ship TCG Bayraktar belonging to the Turkish Naval Forces Command, Beirut port in Lebanon, October 09, 2024. (AA Photo)
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources have disclosed that a total of 2,120 individuals from 22 countries were evacuated by Türkiye from Lebanon.
As of October 16, Türkiye has evacuated the citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Palestine, the Philippines, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Uzbekistan.
The update comes following the October 10th naval evacuation carried out by the Turkish MFA and the Turkish Armed Forces, whereby a total of 966 individuals were evacuated comprised of 878 Turkish nationals, 24 TRNC citizens, and 64 Lebanese citizens who were the first-degree relatives of Turkish nationals.
Where things stand in Israel-Lebanon War?
Hezbollah was quick to bomb Israeli targets in October 2023 following the October 7 Hamas attacks. Since the recent escalations, on September 23, Lebanon began facing major airstrikes by Israel and on September 28, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was neutralized during an Israeli air strike in Beirut and on September 23.
On October 1, Israel began a ground operation into Lebanon. Daily bombings of Lebanese territory are ongoing by Israel.
There continues to be no signs of de-escalation currently in the Middle East as Israel prepares to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack which also took place on October 1.
