Türkiye begins evacuating civilians from Lebanon amid Israeli attacks

BEIRUT

In coordination with the Turkish Foreign Ministry and National Defense Ministry, Türkiye on Wednesday began evacuating civilians, primarily Turkish citizens, from Lebanon, which has been under extensive Israeli attacks in recent weeks.

TCG Bayraktar and TCG Sancaktar, two amphibious warfare ships of the Turkish Naval Forces, arrived in Beirut Port with humanitarian aid. After unloading their supplies, preparations for people's evacuation began.

Following luggage inspections, civilians, mostly Turkish citizens, began boarding the TCG Bayraktar. The evacuees included the elderly, some of whom had disabilities, as well as women, infants, and children.

Türkiye’s Ambassador to Beirut Ali Baris Ulusoy and Rear Admiral Nihat Baran, commander of the Lebanon Evacuation Mission Group, were present to see the evacuees off.

Preparations for boarding the TCG Sancaktar will begin after the aid is unloaded.

Once all procedures are complete, both ships will set sail for Türkiye.

Israel since Sept. 23 has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, killing more than 1,323 people and injuring nearly 3,700.​​​​​​​

The aerial campaign is an escalation of the year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 42,000 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

- 2 frigates, patrol boats to escort ships

Two frigates and two patrol boats will accompany the ships on their first evacuation by sea from Lebanon.

Civilians aboard Türkiye’s domestically produced amphibious ships will undergo health checks conducted by onboard medical staff.

Additionally, citizens of other countries who have requested help from Turkish authorities will also be evacuated on these ships.

- 2006 evacuations

Türkiye had previously evacuated its citizens during the 34-day Israel-Lebanon war in 2006. On July 23, 2006, the TCG Iskenderun, organized by the General Staff and the Turkish Foreign Ministry, reached Beirut Port, escorted by the TCG Gelibolu and TCG Bartin.

After 12 hours of operations, the TCG Iskenderun safely returned to Türkiye with nearly 1,100 people.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul