Turkey is making preparations for the possible evacuation of its citizens and foreign nationals from Lebanon, as cross-border fire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah continues there, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.
No evacuation plan has been implemented by Turkey at this time © Mena Today
Turkey is making preparations for the possible evacuation of its citizens and foreign nationals from Lebanon, as cross-border fire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah continues there, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.
The military has the "capability and resources to carry out any mission assigned to it for the safe evacuation of our citizens or foreign nationals from Lebanon," the source said during a briefing.
"Preliminary planning and preparations for a potential evacuation operation are being made," the person said, adding Turkey had successfully completed such operations before and was closely following developments in Lebanon.
Israel widened its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday and at least 72 people were killed, according to a Reuters compilation of Lebanese health ministry statements.
Several allies, including the United States and France, also called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border.
Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu
Israeli forces killed four people in southern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanon's National News Agency reported, citing the health ministry, in two separate strikes that the Israeli military said targeted members of the Shi'ite Muslim armed group Hezbollah.
Kuwait has added eight Lebanese hospitals to its national sanctions list over alleged links to terrorism, according to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai. The hospitals are all located in areas where Hezbollah is influential: southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Lebanon holds one of the largest gold reserves in the Middle East. Now, as the country sinks deeper into economic collapse, officials are quietly debating whether that stockpile could help stabilize a shattered financial system, a move that remains politically toxic and legally constrained.
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