Canada reserves 800 seats for Lebanon evacuation

A picture shows an empty gate at Beirut’s International airport on September 28, 2024. Agence France-Presse

MONTREAL — Canada announced Monday it has reserved 800 seats on commercial flights to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon, where the Israeli military has begun a limited ground operation targeting the Islamist Hezbollah movement.

“The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly dangerous and volatile,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly wrote on X.

She added: “If you are a Canadian citizen in Lebanon, you must leave now.”

READ: Canada’s Trudeau urges citizens to leave Lebanon over risk of conflict

About 45,000 Canadians are currently in Lebanon and the next flight is scheduled for Tuesday.

Many airlines have suspended flights to and from Beirut.

As Canada prepares to evacuate its citizens, the military has set up emergency resources in Cyprus if commercial flights are interrupted.

READ: Britain charters a flight to evacuate nationals from Lebanon

The Israeli military said Tuesday that its troops have started “ground raids” in villages in southern Lebanon, after militant group Hezbollah said it had targeted “enemy soldiers” at the countries’ border.

The death toll from Israeli strikes on Monday has reached 95 across the country.