BEIJING: China stated on Saturday (Oct 5) that it has evacuated 215 of its nationals from Lebanon, the place Israel has been carrying out intense bombardments since final month, leading to greater than 1,100 deaths.
This week, Israel stated its troops launched “ground raids” into parts of southern Lebanon, a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah, following days of heavy strikes on areas throughout the nation the place the group holds sway.
Israel has not too long ago shifted its focus to securing its northern border with Lebanon, the place there have been near-daily clashes since Hezbollah launched strikes in assist of its Palestinian ally Hamas, after that group’s Oct 7, 2023, assault.
A number of international locations have launched operations to take away their nationals from Lebanon within the wake of the bottom raids, together with South Korea, Russia, France, Spain, Germany and the UK.
“To this point, 215 Chinese language residents have been safely evacuated from Lebanon in two batches beneath the organisation and association of the Chinese language authorities,” Beijing’s overseas ministry stated in an announcement given to AFP.
“The Chinese language embassy in Lebanon continues to hold out its mission in Lebanon and can proceed to help the Chinese language residents there in taking safety measures,” it added.
The ministry didn’t say the place the evacuated Chinese language nationals had been taken.
In keeping with Lebanese authorities, greater than 1,110 folks have been killed within the nation because the escalation in Israeli bombardment on Sep 23, whereas greater than one million folks have been compelled to flee their properties.
On Wednesday, China urged world powers to forestall the battle from “additional deteriorating” after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, which warned it might make Tehran “pay” for the assault.
