Germany Begins Evacuating Its Citizens from Beirut

The German Foreign Ministry has announced the evacuation of its employees working at the German embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in addition to their family members and members of German organizations operating there. A statement by the German Foreign Ministry said that a German Air Force plane took off from Beirut today with 110 passengers on board, some of whom do not hold German citizenship. The German Foreign and Defense Ministries had previously stated that there were "German citizens who are particularly at risk due to medical conditions and were also transported on board the armed forces plane." The German government announced that its crisis cell had decided to raise the level of alert again at the diplomatic representation headquarters in Beirut and Ramallah, provided that these embassies remain able to operate, with the evacuation of non-essential employees. The German Foreign Ministry said earlier Monday that it estimates that there are still 1,800 Germans in Lebanon who have registered themselves on the crisis preparedness list. Source: Qatar News Agency