Dutch government will begin evacuating hundreds of its citizens from Lebanon

The Netherlands is expected to evacuate hundreds of Dutch citizens from Lebanon "within a few days," Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on Tuesday. They will be flown to the Netherlands in military aircraft, as they are in danger of becoming trapped in the Middle East country due to an Israeli offensive by air and on the ground. Dutch people who want to leave Lebanon can register online with the ministry.

Veldkamp does not know exactly how many Dutch people are currently in Lebanon and can take advantage of the government's offer to repatriate them. But he "estimates hundreds at the very least," although "experience shows that it can always be a bit more or less."

The ministry previously stated that it did not know exactly how many citizens are in Lebanon, because they are not obliged to inform the Dutch government when traveling to or taking up residence in Lebanon. It still is not mandatory for them to register, but the minister recommends that Dutch citizens do so.

The first flight arranged by the military will leave "within a few days," according to the minister. It will be a direct flight from Lebanon to the Netherlands, but Veldkamp did not disclose the airports of departure and arrival. A ministry spokesperson said it is not yet clear how many flights will be involved in total.

Furthermore, the Dutch government has taken steps to make sure "that people can, if possible, join flights organised by other countries, if there is space available." Other European countries have already announced in recent days that they will repatriate their citizens. The Netherlands is also looking into whether it can still book seats on commercial flights, as many people can no longer make their own private reservations.

Other countries, including Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, had already started the process of repatriating their citizens. For example, Canada reserved hundreds of commercial airplane tickets, and the United Kingdom arranged a charter flight from Lebanon. Opposition parties in Dutch Parliament also called on the Cabinet on Tuesday to take action to ensure that Dutch people who want to leave Lebanon can do so.

The minister denies that he is much later than other countries evacuating their citizens. "No, we are running at the same pace. Some countries started communicating earlier, externally perhaps." Veldkamp said he decided to only communicate a statement when he was certain that the evacuation flight could be carried out.

Last weekend, tensions between Israel and Lebanon flared up considerably after the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli bombardment on Friday. The Iranian backed military and political group is classified as a terrorist organization by the Netherlands. Despite this, the minister only decided on Tuesday to repatriate. "Because we now see that it is also difficult to leave the country via other countries, Arab countries for example," Veldkamp explained.

Before that, it was the "personal responsibility" of Dutch people to ensure that they leave Lebanon, according to the minister, because they had chosen to stay in the country despite the ministry issuing a Code Red travel warning. The Dutch embassy in Beirut has been in contact with some Dutch citizens. The embassy will remain open for the time being. Earlier, the ministry repeatedly called on Dutch people in Lebanon to leave the country while they are able to secure commercial transportation.

Lebanese political and military organization Hezbollah, which is heavily supported by Iran, is classified as a terrorist organization in the Netherlands. Veldkamp reaffirmed that stance in a speech during the United Nations General Assembly last week. "We are also fully supporting efforts to lower the flames between Hezbollah, illicit terror organization, and the State of Israel. Because the risk of further escalation and more civilian casualties remains high," he said.