The government will not activate the evacuation plan for the 1,000 Spaniards who are in Lebanon, despite the land invasion that Israel began last night along the southern border and the artillery attacks in the eastern area, where there are more than 650 peacekeepers. in the UN mission.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, during the press conference after the Council of Ministers, declared that at present “there is no trace of Spanish victims” in the conflict and that the The Spanish embassy in Lebanon “counted around a thousand victims”. Spaniards, including Spanish nationals, their foreign relatives and people in transit, including a dozen journalists.
Albares also said that Spain has a “detailed” evacuation plan, in case it needs to be activated at any time. But for now, it seems that this possibility has been ruled out. The minister addressed Spaniards in Lebanon and assured them that they “can be sure” that Spain will activate its evacuation plan when it sees that the situation is becoming untenable.
The head of Spanish diplomacy recalled that on September 23, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had modified the travel recommendations for Lebanon, “indicating that Spaniards must leave the country by existing commercial means.” He recalled once again that Beirut airport is still operational and that there is still an airline, Middle East Airlines, “which offers three weekly flights to Madrid, and the possibility of leaving by sea to Cyprus, the Turkey or Greece.
“I would like to once again urge Spaniards to leave the country, especially those who are in transit for tourist or business reasons, and we ask others to be very attentive to the embassy’s social networks and check their emails. If any Spaniard plans to travel to Lebanon in the near future, we totally advise against it,” Albares stressed, adding that “the embassy is constantly updating information on our citizens and, of course, we have a plan to evacuation prepared at the moment”. when it should be activated. “We are in contact with the EU and other countries to be able, if necessary, to act in a coordinated manner.”
Yesterday afternoon, the Vice-President of the Commission responsible for coordinating the European Union’s external action, Josep Borrell, summoned all EU ministers to an emergency telematic meeting during which they addressed the action of member countries regarding the invasion of Lebanon by Israel.
At the same time, the Netanyahu government informed the United States of its intention to launch a land, sea and air offensive, which began overnight, with a ground attack along Lebanon’s southern border and an attack on artillery on the eastern border of the country, in Marjayoun. , where the Spanish UN peacekeepers are located. The Defense Ministry said the more than 650 soldiers of the Brilib XLI contingent, made up mainly of members of the Aragon I Brigade, were doing well, “taking security measures and respecting protocols.”
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