(Zaman) - Twelve hundred Turkish citizens left stranded in Lebanon due to the ongoing Israel attacks, will be evacuated from Beirut on Monday in Turkey's biggest ever evacuation operation.
The Turkish embassy in Beirut has announced that a total of 1,200 Turkish citizens are awaiting evacuation from the country, reports Trend.
A Turkish Sea Forces ferryboat escorted by two frigates which left for Beirut yesterday afternoon is expected to bring the Turkish evacuees to the Turkish port of Iskenderun on Monday.
Doctors and nurses aboard the ferryboat will provide medical care for the Turkish citizens who have been waiting in Beirut for 12 days.
Many Turkish citizens left Lebanon last week and returned to Turkey by bus via Syria.
Some 30,000 people have been evacuated from Lebanon since the start of war. Nearly 600,000 people have been displaced in the country, according to a UN report.
At least 360 civilians have been killed by Israeli forces in attacks, which the Israeli authorities claim target Hezbollah fighters who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and who are launching rocket attacks from Lebanon into Israel. Reports in Lebanon show that civilians are bearing the brunt of the Israeli bombings, which are also destroying Lebanon's infrastructure.