Written by Archis Constantinidis and Michele Kambas
ATHENS/LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) – Foreigners from Europe, Asia and the Middle East fled Lebanon on Thursday as Israel’s bombing of the capital Beirut intensified and governments urged their citizens to leave.
Some countries evacuated by air, while in others hundreds of people boarded crowded ferries and small boats as bombs fell in the heart of cities.
Israel on Thursday called on residents to evacuate from more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon amid an escalating conflict that involves Iran and threatens to involve the United States.
Dozens of Greeks and Greek Cypriots boarded a Greek military plane at Beirut airport, many of them children clutching stuffed animals and schoolbags. The cabin was cramped, with some playing with psyllium lights and others sleeping on their parents’ laps as the plane spewed smoke away from the city below.
The plane dropped off 38 Cypriots at Cyprus’s Larnaca airport, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Lebanon, and continued on to Athens, where 22 Greeks disembarked.
Those on board, as well as many passengers who fled by other means, spoke of the growing confusion and fear caused by this week’s bombing campaign.
“We are trapped and there is no other way out because the planes in the Middle East are full and the earliest flight we can get is in 10 days,” Giorgos Seib told Reuters on the runway at Larnaca airport after landing. ” he said.
“The situation is getting worse day by day and we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad said Thursday that nearly 2,000 people, including 127 children, have been killed since Israel began its attack on Lebanon last year.
Expats are scrambling to leave the country, and governments from China to Europe are drawing up plans to expel their nationals.
Russia on Thursday arranged a special flight for the family of a Russian diplomat. Australia has arranged hundreds of airline seats for its citizens to depart.
A Spanish military plane carrying 204 evacuees landed at Torrejon air base near Madrid on Thursday. Another plane carrying 40 more people was scheduled to arrive later. Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Spain could send more planes, possibly including nationals from other countries, to continue the evacuation process.
trauma
At the port of Tusk in Mersin in southern Turkey, Gretchen, an American national who had lived in Beirut for five years, said she had arrived on a regular commercial ferry as Beirut flights had been canceled in recent days.
“You could hear shelling and shelling all the time, it was too much,” she said after disembarking. “I just wanted to leave right away.”
There were also Lebanese nationals on the boat. Many of those who disembarked at Tusk said they had a layover in Turkey en route to other countries. Some said they had obtained second citizenship elsewhere.
Sami Al King, a Lebanese man living in Ghana, took the ferry because all flights out of Lebanon were booked and he needed to book a bus and a plane to get to Africa.
“All of our families are spread out across Lebanon. So, yes, you’re worried about being separated from your loved ones,” Dr. King said.
Many want to return to Lebanon, where they have built their lives. Some people are too traumatized to tell yet.
Gigi Khalifa, a Libyan Cypriot, moved to Lebanon four years ago so her two children could learn Arabic.
“The bombing was very close. It was very shocking,” she said, her voice cracking in the arrival hall of Larnaca Airport.
“I feel really bad, you know? To all the people left behind. My friends, my children’s friends. I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.”
