BRUSSELS: Belgium military has evacuated more than 100 Europeans from Lebanon on a plane, most of them from Belgium, the Netherlands and France, Brussels said on Friday.
The aircraft, which landed at Melsbroek military base near Brussels was carrying 58 Belgians, 41 Dutch citizens, 11 from France and one from Luxembourg, a foreign ministry spokesman told media.
He added over the past week nearly 150 of the 1,800 Belgians residing in Lebanon have benefited from assistance to return to Belgium. A first group last week departed on two flights arranged by the Netherlands.
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It included two Belgian journalists who were wounded in Beirut while covering an Israeli bombardment of the city on the night of October 2 to 3.
“All the Belgians who wanted to leave have been able to do so. We are continuing to assess the situation,” the spokesman said.
Israeli ground forces invaded Lebanon on September 30, stating they were aiming to stop cross-border fire from Hezbollah in support of Palestinian group Hamas.