Turkey's navy starts to evacuate its citizens from Beirut as Israel battles Hezbollah
The first of over 2,000 evacuees in Beirut are boarding a Turkish military ship sent to provide aid to Lebanon and evacuate Turkish citizens and some foreigners from the country being hit by Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah
By MEHMET GUZEL and ROBERT BADENDIECK
Published - Oct 10, 2024, 12:40 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:28 PM EST
BEIRUT (AP) — Over 2,000 Turkish citizens and some foreign nationals started boarding a Turkish military ship late Wednesday that brought in aid and will take them out of a country being hit by Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah.
Zehra Cibbin, an ethnic Arab from the southeastern Turkish city of Mardin who lives in Beirut with her Lebanese husband, got off a bus packed with the other evacuees, her two children in tow and luggage in hand.
“It’s indescribable. They bombed the street below our house. From that moment on, it was over for me, I said I didn’t want to stay in Beirut anymore,” said Cibbin, 46.
Cibbin said they decided to leave Beirut out of fear for their lives, putting no thought into what will happen when they arrive in Turkey.
