Photo used for demonstration purposes. Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on October 5, 2024. Photo by ETIENNE TORBEY / AFP.
Beijing: China said Saturday that it has evacuated 215 of its nationals from Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out intense bombardments since last month, resulting in over 1,100 deaths.
This week, Israel said its troops launched "ground raids" into parts of southern Lebanon, a stronghold of Hezbollah, following days of heavy strikes on areas across the country where the group holds sway.
Several countries have launched operations to remove their nationals from Lebanon in the wake of the ground raids, including Russia, France, Spain, Germany and the UK.
"So far, 215 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Lebanon in two batches under the organisation and arrangement of the Chinese government," Beijing's foreign ministry said in a statement given to AFP.
"The Chinese Embassy in Lebanon continues to carry out its mission in Lebanon and will continue to assist the Chinese citizens there in taking security measures," it added.
The ministry did not say where the evacuated Chinese nationals had been taken.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,110 people have been killed in the country since the escalation in Israeli bombardment on September 23, while more than a million people have been forced to flee their homes.
On Wednesday, China urged world powers to prevent the conflict from "further deteriorating".