Although many airlines canceled their flights in August, Beirut airport is still open and Athens is already welcoming citizens from Lebanon.
How writes euronews, Cyprus announced its readiness to accept Lebanese refugees a month ago, provided that the citizens fleeing the war later return to their homeland. The President of the Republic stated this at a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Amid discussions in August about the possibility of Iranian strikes on Israel, the island's authorities said that We are ready to provide asylum to Israelis, Lebanese, Europeans, and citizens of third countries – provided that after normalization they return back.
Earlier, the Lebanese Prime Minister called both Cyprus and Greece a bastion of stability. Athens is now accepting Lebanese citizens arriving from Beirut on regular flights. They say:
“The situation, as you all know, is not very good. Israel is still attacking us and no one is supporting us.” “People are leaving their homes, primarily in southern Lebanon. There are a lot of dead people there.” “I was scared to go to the airport because it is in the south of Lebanon and they are bombing there. But, thank God, there were no problems along the way, and the airport was not hit. So I'm happy.”
European countries and the United States a few weeks ago called on their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible while the international airport was still open.
We previously reported that the IDF reported about striking at Hezbollah's central headquarters in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
More Stories
US Airlift: 101st Airborne Division Moves to Germany, Cyprus and Israel
Israel's ruthless strike on southern Lebanon: 200 dead, 720 wounded (video)
Netanyahu Leads Israel to Go All-In