STORY: Foreign nationals in Lebanon have been scrambling to get out as Israel’s campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah intensifies.
One man told Reuters that flights are fully booked – with the earliest available in ten days.
Others turned to the sea, with hundreds arriving in Turkey via ferry after flights were canceled.
:: Marjayoun, Lebanon
The rush comes as Israel sent troops into southern Lebanon after two weeks of intense airstrikes, some hitting in the heart of Beirut after a year of clashes with Hezbollah.
Governments worldwide have been urging their citizens to leave and drawing up plans to get them out.
Dozens of Greeks and Greek Cypriots boarded this Greek military aircraft in Beirut.
Those onboard, like many of the others fleeing, spoke of the growing chaos and terror caused by the bombing campaign this week.
The plane dropped off close to 40 people in Cyprus, about 125 miles west of Lebanon, before continuing on to Athens.
GIGI KHALIFA: “There was bombing, and we could hear it…”
Libyan Cypriot citizen Gigi Khalifa says the last week has been tough, especially for her children.
“I just feel bad for all those people I left behind, you know. Close friends, my kids’ friends…” // “I don’t know if we’re going to see them again or not and hopefully they are in safe places. I miss you all, guys, the kids miss you as well.”
In France, a Franco-Lebanese grandmother reunited with two of her grandchildren after trying to get her family on a plane to Paris for two weeks.
:: Dakhoub Family
May Kodeih says her family in Lebanon lives in a neighborhood that was completely bombed, forcing them to flee to the mountains.
“They lost everything. The kids are arriving and look. I have to bring their things. They have nothing on them.”
Israel on Thursday urged residents to evacuate more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon, in the escalating conflict that has drawn in Iran and risks drawing in the United States.
