By Abdelaziz Boumzar and Heba Fouad
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Nearly 2,000 Turkish citizens and relatives prepared to leave Beirut on Wednesday on two Turkish Navy landing ships evacuated from Lebanon amid fears for their safety as Israel expanded operations against Hezbollah militants.
Those who gathered at the port said Lebanon’s deteriorating security situation and economic hardship prompted them to flee on the ships, which left Turkey on Tuesday.
“We can’t handle this situation anymore. No one knows where this country is taking us. The siege is growing,” said Issa Malak, who, like many of the evacuees, has dual Lebanese and Turkish citizenship. “There is no bread here. There is no future in Lebanon.”
Upon arrival in Beirut, the ships loaded humanitarian aid for the first time. The Turkish Defense Ministry said they transported around 300 tons of goods.
“There are beds, tents, blankets, food parcels, kitchen utensils and hygiene kits,” Turkish Ambassador Ali Baris Ulusoy told state news agency Anadolu.
Before the ships arrived, passengers registered their papers and waited with their luggage.
“We are leaving because the rockets and grenades started falling on us,” said Tarek Issa.
Mariam Darwish, who has Turkish and Lebanese nationality, said she would be traveling with her 80-year-old Turkish father.
“The situation is becoming frightening and our neighborhood has become unsafe,” she said. “This is much safer for us and our children, our grandchildren and our health.”
The ships are expected to arrive in Turkey’s eastern Mediterranean city of Mersin on Thursday after a journey of about 12 hours, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.
The source said some of the Turkish evacuees would be joined by foreign relatives. Earlier this week, the source said there were about 14,000 Turkish citizens in Lebanon. In addition to the two ships, Ankara will also charter flights from Lebanon if there is demand, the source said.
Turkey has previously said it is working with about 20 countries to prepare for a possible evacuation of foreigners through Turkey. Hundreds of people of different nationalities arrived in Turkey from Lebanon on a commercial ferry last week.
(Reporting by Abdelaziz Boumzar, Heba Fouad in Beirut and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Peter Graff)
