The German Foreign Ministry said on Monday it estimates that around 1,800 German nationals are currently in Lebanon as the country faces a massive escalation in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said about 1,800 people have registered on the ministry’s crisis preparedness list ELEFAND.
Thanks to the system, Germans abroad can be quickly informed by German representatives in acute situations and be involved in possible crisis measures such as evacuations.
After nearly a year of cross-border skirmishes, Israel last week launched a large-scale air campaign on targets across Lebanon.
According to Lebanese authorities, hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands have been displaced during the fighting in Lebanon.
The international community is pushing for de-escalation amid continued Israeli attacks and Hezbollah reprisals, but attempts at a ceasefire have so far been rebuffed by both sides.
The German government’s crisis team assessed the situation in Lebanon on Friday and Saturday, the spokesman said.
He said Beirut airport was still open, albeit with drastically reduced flight operations, as was Tel Aviv airport.
The ministry is helping German nationals leave the country, although he added that “we are not explicitly in an evacuation scenario.”
The Foreign Ministry has raised the crisis level for German missions in Beirut, Tel Aviv and Ramallah in the West Bank.
This means that relatives of deployed personnel will be gradually evacuated and staffing levels will be reduced, he said.
