Turkey says will evacuate citizens from Lebanon on Wednesday

Turkish navy ships will evacuate Turks who have applied to leave Lebanon by sea on Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The two ships were expected to set off for Beirut on Tuesday with a total capacity of around 2,000 passengers, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the evacuation process would continue in the following days if necessary, adding that the ships carrying out the evacuation would also transport humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

A foreign ministry source said that around 2,500 Turkish citizens had applied to be evacuated from Lebanon, but after checks, it was determined that a ship with a capacity of 2,000 would be sufficient.

The naval ships will set off on Tuesday from Turkey's eastern Mediterranean province of Mersin, the source said.

Turkey had previously said it was working with around 20 countries on preparing for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Turkey.

Hundreds of people of various nationalities arrived in Turkey from Lebanon last week on a commercial ferry.

Turkey is estimated to have 14,000 citizens registered with its consulate in Lebanon.

Following Israel's war on Lebanon, over 2,000 civilians have been killed, and over one million people have been uprooted by Israeli bombardment.

Between 200,000 to 300,000 have crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria, including Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinian refugees.

As Israel began its invasion of southern Lebanon, there have been fears of an all-out war in the Middle East, causing many countries to initiate plans to get their citizens out.

Countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and the United States have been calling for their citizens to leave Lebanon, and some have already started the evacuation process.

(Reuters)