A Dutch Airbus is on its way from Lebanon to Europe with evacuated Germans and probably also Dutch people on board, German media report.
There are still a few hundred Dutch citizens in Lebanon. Initially, the evacuation was not scheduled to take place until Friday or Saturday, but the first flight with the military Airbus A330 aircraft has already departed today. It is not clear how many Dutch citizens are on board
Earlier, the ministry stated that Dutch citizens in Lebanon, who have been warned for months to leave, would have to escape the threat of war violence on their own now that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is flaring up. When there were no more tickets available and some highways were impassable, the ministry finally relented.
The ministry asked Dutch citizens who wanted to qualify for this to report to the embassy, ​​which can be reached around the clock. It also said that it would ‘continue to make efforts to assist with departures with commercial airlines’.
The Netherlands has gained a lot of experience with evacuating citizens from conflict areas. Earlier this year, there was a major exercise in Belgium in which a scenario à la Lebanon was practiced.
