Beirut: Thousands of Turkish nationals boarded a military ship in Beirut on Wednesday as they were evacuated from Lebanon.
The Turkish navy ship TCG Bayraktar had been sent to Lebanon to provide aid as well as bring home Turkish citizens and some foreign nationals following Israeli airstrikes which had targeted the country in recent weeks.
Zehra Cibbin was among some 2,000 Turkish citizens waiting to be ferried to safety from Lebanon amid an escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It’s indescribable. They bombed the street below our house. From that moment on, it was over for me, I said I didn’t want to stay in Beirut anymore. From that moment, Beirut was over for me,” she said.
A six-ship convoy which included the TCG Bayraktar set sail from the southern port of Mersin in Turkey early on Wednesday, transporting 300 tons of humanitarian supplies, including food, hygiene kits, kitchenware, tents, beds, and blankets.
The Associated Press was the only non-government media that was invited aboard the ships to cover the evacuation operation.
The journey back to Mersin is expected to take some 10 hours.
Hundreds lined up in queues before the relief ship Bayraktar with their Turkish passport in hands.
Turkish soldiers and navy personnel checked the evacuees’ passports, searched their bags with metal detectors and police dogs sniffed luggage before being allowed onto the vessel.
Amongst the droves of people waiting in line was Abir Gokcimen.
Gokcimen told the Associated Press that she left her extended family and husband back in Beirut and hopes that the fighting that has spread to Lebanon will end soon.
She said she hoped to come back as soon as the danger passes.
Turkish officials stated that further sea evacuations would be organized if necessary.
Additionally, the government is also contemplating charter flights to repatriate citizens.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza.
Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran, and Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at aiding the Palestinians.
Israel has carried out airstrikes in response and the conflict steadily escalated.
Israel has inflicted a punishing wave of blows against Hezbollah in recent weeks and says it will keep fighting until tens of thousands of displaced Israeli citizens can return to their homes in the north.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon and over a million displaced since the fighting escalated in mid-September.
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