The 55 Belgians were expected around 10:00 p.m. in Brussels, but the Dutch plane repatriating them was an hour behind schedule.
“As soon as the government agreed, I launched steps to allow Belgians who wished to do so to leave Lebanon quickly,” underlined the resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib, present at the Neder-Over military hospital. -Heembeek to welcome repatriated Belgians this Friday. “These are Belgians who have lived in Lebanon for a long time, but who remain Belgians,” she added.
Tensions in the Middle East: new explosions in the southern suburbs of Beirut and near Tripoli
“We will organize tomorrow (Saturday, Editor’s note) a second flight again in collaboration with the Netherlands, which should allow several dozen Belgians to return in turn,” declared the minister, thanking the Dutch authorities for “the “excellent cooperation”. Around fifty nationals would be affected by the second flight scheduled for Saturday.
Some 1,800 Belgians are currently in Lebanon. “Currently, around 200 of them have indicated that they wish to leave Lebanon in a more or less rapid period of time,” continued the minister.
“There is therefore no massive demand to leave the country and we still remain in phase 1 of our plan. Depending on demand, we will mobilize other means to quickly bring our compatriots back to Belgium. (. ..) We remain in contact with the Belgians on site, who have difficulty leaving, but who want to leave the country, and we will accompany them until their return,” she finally assured.
