The humanitarian situation is worsening in Lebanon. This Thursday, October 3, France announced that it had evacuated an unknown number of French people residing on Lebanese soil, most of them vulnerable people. They left Lebanon for Paris aboard additional commercial flights set up by the Lebanese company Middle East Airlines, French diplomacy said on Thursday.
This decision follows the ongoing military escalation in the country, where some 24,000 French or Franco-Lebanese reside. The Israeli army continued its campaign of massive aerial bombardments in Lebanon against Hezbollah on Thursday, as well as several ground invasions in the south of the country. Operations causing hundreds of deaths across Lebanon.
Like France, several countries organized evacuations of their nationals in the country this week. Overview of the different evacuation operations announced by country.
France: a total of 200 reserved seats
Concerning the French evacuation this Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that this operation was organized “at the request of the minister […] Jean-Noël Barrot, during a trip to Lebanon on Monday.
The spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay, Christophe Lemoine, declared that the company “Middle East Airlines has set up today […] two additional flights which allowed some of our compatriots who wished to do so – in particular those who find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation – to return to France.” The French authorities had reserved a total of 200 seats on these flights on behalf sick, elderly or isolated people.
Furthermore, Paris set sail on Monday an amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) from Toulon. This PHA should arrive by the weekend off the coast of Lebanon, accompanied by an escort frigate. The ship could accommodate 1,500 people and rotate between Lebanon and Cyprus if a new evacuation were to be decided.
Russia: 60 relatives of diplomats evacuated
Russia also organized its first evacuation flight for its nationals on Thursday. The Russian government announced that it had evacuated sixty members of the families of Russian diplomats from Lebanon due to the intensification of Israeli bombings on Lebanon. This plane from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations left Beirut for Moscow on the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, the ministry said on its Telegram account.
United Kingdom: 700 soldiers mobilized in Cyprus
The United Kingdom has confirmed that a “limited number of flights” will be chartered on Thursday and in the coming days to evacuate “hundreds of nationals” from Lebanon, announced the British Foreign Office. The country had already repatriated more than 150 people the day before from Rafic Hariri international airport in Beirut, after a first similar announcement on Monday.
Nearly 700 British soldiers employed by the Foreign and Home Office have also been deployed to Cyprus in preparation for a possible evacuation. A few hundred Britons were in Lebanon at the start of the week, plus spouses and children and dual nationals, bringing their total to around 5,000 people.
Greece and Cyprus: a military plane sent
Greece also sent a C-130 military plane to Cyprus on Thursday to evacuate dozens of Greek and Cypriot nationals from Lebanon. Two other aircraft are on standby, his Defense Minister said. In total, 38 Cypriot nationals and 22 Greek nationals have so far been evacuated, wrote Nikos Dendias on the social network. Around 3,500 Greek nationals live in Lebanon, plus around 1,000 dependents, according to public television channel ERT.
Germany: army repatriates 241 people
Germany evacuated 241 people aboard two air force flights on Monday and Wednesday, the government said. Passengers included non-essential employees of the Beirut embassy, their relatives, some citizens with health problems and members of German organizations.
The plane arriving Wednesday also carried five tons of relief materials from the German Red Cross for emergency care of the civilian population in Lebanon, the foreign and defense ministries said. Other flights will be prepared according to needs and the evolution of the situation, “which remains extremely volatile”, they specified.
The Beirut embassy remained operational to help the approximately 1,800 German citizens in Lebanon “leave the country by commercial flights or other means”, the government said.
United States: a Beirut-Istanbul flight organized
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday that it had reserved “more than 800 seats” in “commercial flights” to allow its nationals to leave the country since last week.
A flight from Beirut to Istanbul was also organized on Monday to allow “a little over a hundred American citizens and their families” to leave, according to the same statement. “Around 7,000” American nationals have also expressed their wish to leave the country.
Australia: 1,700 citizens ready to leave
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday that Australia “has secured 580 seats on flights departing Thursday and Saturday for citizens, permanent residents and their families who want to leave Lebanon,” according to the British news agency Reuters. After the authorities urged their 15,000 nationals there to leave the country as long as Beirut airport remains open, 1,700 Australian citizens have expressed their desire to leave Lebanon, according to the minister.
Bulgaria: 89 nationals return to Sofia
A total of 89 Bulgarians, mainly families with children, were evacuated from Lebanon and arrived in the capital Sofia late Monday. A government plane was also scheduled to make a second flight on Tuesday. Around 400 Bulgarians live in Lebanon and so far 160 of them have declared they want to be evacuated, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Elena Shekerletova.
Moldova: 11 evacuated with help from Ukraine
The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday the “successful evacuation” of eleven Moldovans, most of them children, with the support of Ukraine and the International Organization for Migration.
Portugal: 44 people evacuated as of Saturday
Among the first countries to have organized an evacuation of its nationals, Portugal has already repatriated 28 national citizens and their families on Saturday evening by a military flight via Cyprus, i.e. 44 people in total.
China: 200 citizens repatriated
More than 200 Chinese citizens were also reportedly evacuated by the Chinese government, China’s official Xinhua news agency said. quoted by the Reuters news agencywithout the date of the operation being specified.
Several evacuations still pending
Other countries have also announced upcoming evacuation operations, although they have not yet taken place.
The Netherlands. The Dutch government has announced its intention to send a military plane to Beirut to repatriate the Dutch. A first evacuation is planned for Friday, another on Saturday. The Foreign Ministry said around 300 Dutch people had registered to be evacuated.
Canada. Ottawa announced Monday that it had reserved 800 seats on commercial flights to help its nationals leave Lebanon. Around 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, including many dual nationals.
Spain. The Spanish government has indicated that it will evacuate “in principle” some 350 people, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Thursday. Two military planes were expected to fly to Beirut on Thursday, she added.
Poland. Warsaw announced on Tuesday its intention to reduce the staff of its embassy in Lebanon “given the growing tension” and help “a few dozen” Polish nationals who wish to leave the country by commercial charter flights. According to the spokesperson for the Polish Foreign Ministry, Pawel Wronski, only “around fifteen” employees should leave Lebanon “initially”.
Türkiye. The Turkish state would be “ready for a possible evacuation of Turks from Lebanon by air and sea and is cooperating with around twenty countries for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Turkey”, according to Reuters. The British agency specifies that around 14,000 Turkish citizens are registered at the consulate in Lebanon.
100,000 refugees also fled Lebanon
Beyond official evacuations, around 100,000 people (mainly women and children) have fled Lebanon to Syria, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday. Around 80% are Syrian nationals and 20% Lebanese. In total, some 210,000 Palestinian refugees live in camps and informal settlements in Lebanon, according to Unicef.