Germany urgently evacuates citizens, many countries prepare plans to evacuate people from conflict zones

Several countries have made plans to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon, as Israeli attacks on the country continue, while Iran has launched a large-scale airstrike on Israel, raising the risk of all-out conflict higher than ever.

A devastated area in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital Beirut after an Israeli airstrike. (Source: AFP)

AFP news agency reported that on October 2, Germany announced that an Airbus A330 MRTT had departed for Beirut to pick up 130 of its citizens.

In a joint statement, the German Foreign and Defense Ministries said the special flight also transported around five tonnes of relief goods from the German Red Cross, mainly medical supplies such as infusion sets and bandages, to provide emergency medical services to Lebanese civilians.

According to the statement, Germany evacuated about 110 people from Lebanon on September 30. In the context of the “extremely unstable situation in the Middle East”, further flights will be deployed depending on the needs and developments of the situation.

Given the unstable security situation in Lebanon, many countries are planning to evacuate their citizens.

On October 3, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Canberra has arranged 580 seats on flights departing on October 3 and 5 for citizens of this Oceanian country, permanent residents and their families who wish to leave Lebanon.

She said about 1,700 Australian citizens and their families had registered their desire to leave Lebanon with the Australian government, and urged the thousands of Australians still in Lebanon to leave while they still could.

She noted that the two flights departing to Cyprus on October 5 will depend on whether Beirut airport remains open, sharing: "We are very worried about the escalating situation. If Beirut airport closes, departure options will be less feasible."

Australia has deployed military aircraft to Cyprus as part of the plan and has contingency plans in place, but commercial flights remain the main means of transport while Beirut airport remains open.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry announced on October 1 that the country will help its citizens leave Lebanon in the coming days, using both military aircraft and possibly commercial aircraft as well as contacting other countries to open rescue flights as many airlines have decided to suspend flights to Lebanon.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry plans to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon by air and sea and is accepting applications from citizens for evacuation.

The ministry has also published guidelines regarding the evacuation of citizens from other countries via Türkiye and preparations are underway for nearly 20 countries that have requested assistance so far.

Several other countries are also evacuating citizens from Lebanon, including France, Spain, Britain and Canada.

Meanwhile, two C-2 transport planes of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) departed Miho Air Base in the western prefecture of Tottori on October 3, heading to Jordan and Greece to prepare for the possibility of evacuating citizens of the Northeast Asian country from Lebanon.

Japan's Defense Ministry said about 50 Japanese citizens are in Lebanon. The ASDF has also set up a 500-member joint task force. Japan's Defense Ministry has asked other countries for permission to fly planes through their airspace.

A report by Lebanon's emergency management agency on October 1 said that nearly 240,000 people, mostly Syrians, have crossed the border back to their country since Israel began its offensive against what it said were Hezbollah bases in Lebanon.

For Vietnamese citizens who cannot leave Lebanon due to force majeure, it is recommended that they be vigilant, monitor the situation on local media, minimize gatherings in crowded places and absolutely do not go near the southern area of ​​the capital Beirut, the southern area near the border with Israel and the northern and eastern areas (Beeka Valley) near the border with Syria.

We recommend that people find temporary shelter in safer areas and have plans to stock up on food and medicine in case of emergency.

In case of emergency, please contact the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and Lebanon or the Honorary Consulate of Vietnam in Lebanon.

Hotline of the Embassy of Vietnam in Egypt: +20 102 613 9869

Honorary Consulate of Vietnam in Lebanon: +961 70 229 300

Citizen Protection Hotline +84 981 84 84 84

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tinh-hinh-lebanon-duc-so-tan-khan-cap-cong-dan-nhieu-nuoc-san-sang-ke-hoach-dua-nguoi-ra-khoi-vung-xung-dot-288579.html