At least one Israeli attack in the early hours of Friday (local time) hit the perimeter of Beirut’s international airport, according to a source from Lebanon’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
With around 1 million people impacted Imran Riza, UN humanitarian coordinator, stated that the rate of displacement of the Lebanese population has exceeded the worst-case scenarios since September 23, and that civil infrastructure has suffered a lot of damage.
“What we saw from September 23 is truly catastrophic,” Riza said on Thursday in an interview with Reuters, referring to the day Israel drastically increased bombings against Lebanon, killing more than 500 people in a single day, according to the Lebanese government.
“The level of trauma and fear in the population is extreme,” he added.
Repatriation
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio, and the Commander of the Air Force, Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, held a press conference on Thursday afternoon (3) to detail the operation that should bring the first Brazilians from Lebanon to Brazil.
The first rescue flight leaves this Friday (4) from Lisbon, Portugal, to the Lebanese capital. The Brazilian Air Force plane, a KC-30, is expected to arrive in Beirut at around 10 am Brasília time, 4 pm local time, and then return to the Portuguese capital. From Lisbon, he will head to São Paulo, where disembarkation is scheduled for 8am on Saturday (5).
Itamaraty estimates the number of passengers in this first repatriation at 220. The Brazilian government’s objective is to repatriate around 500 people per week. Elderly people, women, children and people with medical needs will have priority boarding.
Flight routes may change depending on security conditions.
With information from Reuters
