A French navy ship departed from southeastern France on Monday, heading toward the Lebanese coast as a precautionary measure to potentially evacuate French citizens. This as Israeli ground forces crossed into southern Lebanon on Tuesday to carry out “targeted raids” against Hezbollah positions.
The ship will take “5 to 6 days” to reach the area in the eastern Mediterranean from the port of Toulon, according to army officials.
The vessel is equipped with helicopters and an onboard battle group, ready to be deployed if an evacuation of French nationals becomes necessary.
“We are strengthening our resources to deal with a deterioration of the situation,” a senior officer of the armed forces told French news agency AFP, adding that “there is no question of evacuation of nationals” at this stage.
Evacuating Lebanon?
Around 23,000 French and Franco-Lebanese residents live in Lebanon. The French embassy in Beirut has established a hotline and started coordinating evacuation options for civilians who wish to leave.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who was in Beirut on Monday said France was working in tandem with the Lebanese airline MEA for transport arrangements.
“We have initiated discussions with the Lebanese national airline to allow flights and places to be freed up for those of our nationals who wish to return to France,” Barrot told public broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday.
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Source Agencies
