Türkiye Says It Will Evacuate Its Citizens from Lebanon by Sea on Wednesday

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at Dahieh Hadath area in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, late 07 October 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at Dahieh Hadath area in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, late 07 October 2024. (EPA)
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Türkiye Says It Will Evacuate Its Citizens from Lebanon by Sea on Wednesday

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at Dahieh Hadath area in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, late 07 October 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike at Dahieh Hadath area in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, late 07 October 2024. (EPA)

Turkish navy ships will evacuate Turks who have applied to leave Lebanon by sea on Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The two ships were expected to set off for Beirut on Tuesday with a total capacity of around 2,000 passengers, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the evacuation process will continue in the following days if necessary, adding that the ships carrying out the evacuation will also transport humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

A foreign ministry source said that around 2,500 Turkish citizens had applied to be evacuated from Lebanon but that after checks it was determined that a ship capacity of 2,000 would be sufficient.

The naval ships will set off on Tuesday from Türkiye’s eastern Mediterranean province of Mersin, the source said.

Türkiye had previously said it was working with around 20 countries on preparing for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Türkiye.

Hundreds of people of various nationalities arrived in Türkiye from Lebanon last week on a commercial ferry.



Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful.”

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said, according to Reuters.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."

The pope, 88, was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's 'state of the world' speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.
But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested
the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern."
Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.