US, China, France, others weigh Lebanon evacuation plans for nationals
The situation in Lebanon and the region has quickly deteriorated, prompting several countries to come up with plans to secure the safe evacuation of their nationals from the country.
BEIRUT — Several countries are working on contingency plans to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon, calling on them to immediately leave the country following a sharp escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in the past week.
Germany has already flown out its nonessential embassy staff from Beirut, while several other countries are sending ships or planes to be on standby for any possible evacuation.
There has been no large-scale military evacuation from the small Mediterranean country so far, as some commercial flights are still available and Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport is operating normally. But several countries have already helped their nationals leave Lebanon in the past week.
The situation in the Middle East has been rapidly deteriorating after Israel intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon last week and announced a limited ground invasion in the south on Monday. On Tuesday, Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, claiming to target main military and spy agencies and further fueling tensions in the region.
