São Paulo, Brazil – Following the escalation of the conflict between the Israeli government and Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has launched an evacuation plan for Brazilian citizens in the country who want to return to Brazil.
There are approximately 21,000 Brazilians living in Lebanon, making it the largest Brazilian community in the Middle East. At least 3,000 citizens have expressed their desire to leave the conflict zone and return to Brazil.
The conflict has intensified in recent days. Early Tuesday morning, Israel announced that it had sent ground troops into Lebanon after intense bombing. Hours later, Iran, which backs Hezbollah, fired about 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation, and experts expect the Israeli military to respond with an attack of its own.
In response to the worsening situation, on Wednesday morning a Brazilian Air Force KC-30 aircraft took off from Rio de Janeiro bound for Beirut, the Lebanese capital. It is reported that the plane has landed in Lisbon, Portugal and is awaiting authorization to enter Lebanon. The government has not commented on when the plane with the evacuated Brazilians might return.
According to reports, the first evacuation mission is expected to save around 220 people. Women, children, the elderly and the disabled will be prioritized on the repatriation list, the government said.
(IDF YouTube views)
Brazil will use the same 240-seat plane it used in 2023 when it repatriated 1,500 Brazilians from the Gaza Strip after the conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group erupted in October of that year.
Other repatriation flights will take place by the end of the week, but have not yet been officially confirmed by the Brazilian government.
So far, two Brazilians have been killed in connection with the conflict in Lebanon. On September 23, 16-year-old Mirna Raef Nasser and her father, a Lebanese national, were inside their home in the Bekaa Valley, approximately 30 miles from Beirut, when the property was hit by an Israeli airstrike.
Nasser, originally from Balneário Camboriú in Santa Catarina state, had returned home that afternoon with her father to pick up clothes and school supplies after running away earlier fearing an impending strike, according to an uncle of hers. the deceased he spoke to CNN Brazil.
Just two days later, 15-year-old Ali Kamal Abdallah, a Brazilian citizen, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Abdallah, originally from Foz do Iguaçu in the state of Paraná, was with his father, a Paraguayan national, who was also killed in the same strike.
During a visit to Mexico for the inauguration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, President Lula criticized the United Nations for its inability to mediate the conflict and condemned Israeli military actions.
“What I complain about is the behavior of the Israeli government. “Frankly, it is inexplicable that the UN Security Council lacks the moral and political authority to force Israel to come to the negotiating table, instead of just knowing how to kill,” he said. The president has not publicly commented on the Iranian and Hezbollah attacks.
President Claudia Sheinbaum (Ricardo Stuckert/President of Brazil)
