Canada is ready to evacuate up to 20 thousand of its citizens from Lebanon amid the escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Shiite Hezbollah movement, CBC News reports, citing Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair.
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“Blair said that the government is ready to evacuate up to 20 thousand people… in total there are 40 thousand people with Canadian passports in the region,” the TV channel said.
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According to the channel, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said that the country’s government is reserving seats for its citizens on commercial flights, calling on them to immediately leave Lebanon and adding that Canadians can use the corresponding loan to buy air tickets.
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The Defense Minister stressed that evacuation does not necessarily mean a return to Canada, as the government’s main goal is to get its citizens to safety, and named Cyprus as one possible destination. He added that Canada is keeping a ship off the coast of Lebanon, as well as 150 military personnel to help citizens evacuate in case of further escalation in the region.
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As it became known earlier, a series of about ten explosions occurred in Beirut on Friday evening.
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Later, IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli Air Force carried out a targeted airstrike on Hezbollah’s main headquarters in Beirut, which is located under residential buildings in the center of the Dahiya district.
