The fourth vessel carrying people fleeing Israel’s attacks in Lebanon anchored at a southern Turkish port on Sunday. Since Israel launched attacks on its northern neighbor under the pretext of eliminating Hezbollah, more than 1,400 people have arrived in Türkiye by sea.
On Sunday, 426 passengers disembarked from a ferry arriving at the Port of Taşucu in the southern province of Mersin. Among them were Turkish nationals and people of various nationalities who reside in Lebanon, where the conflict has spread as far as the capital Beirut’s suburbs from the Israeli border. Most passengers head to third countries from Türkiye. Mass cancellations of flights due to the conflict have pushed more people to opt for sea voyages.
Israel carried out extensive strikes at both the border and further inside Lebanon, killing hundreds, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and then launched what it described as “targeted ground raids” in south Lebanon.
Turkish authorities announced last week that they were ready for a possible evacuation of Turks from Lebanon via air and sea, and were working with about 20 countries for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Türkiye. About 14,000 Turkish citizens were registered at the consulate in Lebanon, but the number was not definitive.
The country’s proximity to Lebanon also made it a hub of evacuations. The U.S. State Department said 145 passengers traveled Saturday on two flights that it had organized out of Lebanon. Each of the flights from Beirut to Istanbul could carry 300 passengers, for a total capacity of 600, a State Department spokesperson noted.
“To date, we have assisted over 600 U.S. citizens, U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), and their immediate family members in departing Lebanon via U.S. organized flights,” the spokesperson said. The State Department has advised Americans since late September to depart Lebanon “while commercial options still remain available,” and warned those who stay to “be prepared to shelter in place should the situation deteriorate further.”
