The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) KC-30 plane that will repatriate Brazilians in Lebanon took off this Saturday (5) from Lisbon, Portugal, bound for Beirut.
According to the FAB, the aircraft took off at 6:55 am and is scheduled to land in the Lebanese capital at 11 am (Brasília time).
The expectation of the first phase of Operation Raízes de Cedro is repatriate 220 Brazilians who are in Lebanon. The objective of the operation is to bring up to 500 people to the country per week.
It is estimated that 20 thousand Brazilians live in Lebanese territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) accounts for approximately 3 thousand Brazilians who want to leave the countryamid the escalation of military operations by the Israeli Armed Forces.
The repatriation was scheduled for this Friday (4), but was postponed to analyze safety conditions. On Thursday night, Israeli bombings towards Lebanon were intensified. Even areas close to Beirut airport were affected.