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What are countries doing to get their nationals out of Lebanon?

An aircraft carrying Jordanian evacuees from Lebanon lands at Marka military airport, in Amman
September 26, 2024
Reuters - Reuters

(Reuters) -Nations worldwide are evacuating citizens from Lebanon after a sharp escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah. People are also fleeing on their own. 

Here are details of evacuations or plans to evacuate:

AUSTRALIA

Australia started evacuating its nationals from Lebanon via Cyprus on Oct. 5. More than 800 people arrived on the east Mediterranean island on chartered flights over the weekend, and many have already been repatriated to Australia.

BELGIUM

Belga press agency says a military flight is scheduled on Wednesday to repatriate Belgians and Europeans from Lebanon.

BRAZIL

Brazil, which says 3,000 nationals want to be repatriated, has sent an Air Force Airbus A330 for those seeking to leave.

CHINA

More than 200 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Lebanon, China's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

CANADA

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadian citizens still in Lebanon on Oct. 5 to sign up to be evacuated on special flights that have already helped more than 1,000 leave. Canada has 6,000 signed up to leave and officials are trying to reach another 2,500 over the weekend, an official in Trudeau's office said, adding that more flights were being added for Monday and Tuesday.

CYPRUS

Cyprus evacuated 38 of its nationals on Oct. 3 using an aircraft provided by Greece, and chartered another flight for 70 people, on Oct. 4.

DENMARK

Denmark has urged citizens to leave as soon as possible, but said it had not initiated an evacuation as there were still commercial flights out of Lebanon. Middle East Airlines will add extra flights from Beirut to European destinations to meet the demand for commercial travel outwards, the Danish foreign ministry said.

FRANCE

France has had contingency plans for months but has not yet ordered an evacuation. Current plans centre on Cyprus and Beirut airport, while it is also discussing evacuations via Turkey. France has a warship in the region, with a helicopter carrier set to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in coming days in preparation for any decision to evacuate foreign nationals from Lebanon.

GERMANY

Germany's Foreign Ministry said it was flying another 219 nationals out of Lebanon on Oct. 4 as it continues to evacuate non-essential staff, families of embassy workers and medically vulnerable nationals. It says it will support others trying to leave.

GREECE

Greece, which evacuated 22 nationals on Oct. 3 along with some Cypriot citizens, has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid any travel there, putting a frigate on standby in case assistance is required.

ITALY

Italy has cut diplomatic staff and added security personnel at its Beirut embassy. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has repeatedly urged nationals to leave the country and sought assurances from Israel over the safety of Italian peacekeepers in the area.

JAPAN

Eleven Japanese and five foreign nationals left Lebanon for Jordan aboard Japan's C-2 military transport aircraft on Oct. 4.        

THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands sent a military plane to repatriate nationals from Lebanon via two flights on Oct. 4-5, the Dutch defence ministry has said, adding that the flights to the military airbase in Eindhoven will also accommodate people from other countries if there is enough room. 

POLAND

A plane carrying several dozens of Poles and citizens of other countries who wanted to leave Lebanon landed in Warsaw on Oct. 4. Poland earlier said it would limit staff numbers at its Beirut embassy.

PORTUGAL

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has advised against travel to Lebanon. A small number of Portuguese citizens living there have been evacuated.

ROMANIA

Romania evacuated 69 citizens from Lebanon in a military aircraft on Oct. 3, its foreign and defence ministries said.

More than 1,100 Romanian citizens and their families registered their presence in Lebanon at the embassy, the foreign ministry said this week. 

RUSSIA

Russia has started evacuating citizens from Lebanon, with families of its diplomats leaving on a special flight from Beirut on Oct. 3, its emergencies minister said. About 3,000 Russians and citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States want to leave, the TASS news agency said. 

SLOVAKIA

Slovakia has sent a military aircraft to fly Slovak and other citizens to Cyprus.

SOUTH KOREA

A South Korean military aircraft has evacuated 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon, the country's foreign ministry said on Oct. 5. 

SPAIN

Spain said it planned to send two military aircraft to evacuate as many as 350 citizens from Lebanon.

TURKEY

Turkish navy ships will evacuate Turks who have applied to leave Lebanon by sea on Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The two ships were expected to set off for Beirut on Tuesday with a total capacity of around 2,000 passengers, the ministry said in a statement.

UNITED KINGDOM

Britain has chartered a limited number of flights for citizens to leave Lebanon, repeating advice to evacuate immediately. It has moved about 700 troops to Cyprus, bolstering military assets, including two Royal Navy ships. 

UNITED STATES

The United States has ordered dozens of troops deployed to Cyprus to help prepare for scenarios such as an evacuation of Americans from Lebanon. It is working with airlines to add flights out of Lebanon, with more seats for Americans, the State Department said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Reuters bureausWriting by Michele KambasEditing by Rosalba O'Brien, Clarence Fernandez, Michael Perry, Sonali Paul, Edwina Gibbs, Mike Harrison, Frances Kerry and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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