People take to the seas as a way out of intensive Israeli bombardment of Lebanon

(6 Oct 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tripoli, Lebanon - 5 October 2024
1. Wide of Med Lines ship
2. Various of Turkish citizens getting on ship
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Al Youssef, owner of Medline ship evacuating Turkish citizens:
“It doesn't cover for Beirut airport, but it can fulfil 20 or 25 percent, depending on the pressure we have in the principle. For now we are covering. We have three trips every week which is we will now make four and things are moving as you can see. We have no problems. Each trip, we are taking around 400 people.”
4. Various of Turkish citizens getting on ship
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammad Dheiby, evacuee:
“The situation we are in is not reassuring, believe me. Lebanon is beautiful. We lived here of 50 or 60 years but the situation is not good at all.”
6. Various of people getting on ship
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elie Mardani, evacuee:
“It is a solution but also not a solution. What can we do? You have no other option. There is bad and worse. What should you do between bad and worse?”
8. Various of Medline boat
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Eid, evacuee:
"Because there are no flights working continuously and you must reserve for a week or two after and then they just cancel it, because there are no spaces. There are too many people leaving.”
10. Various of ship
STORYLINE:
People were evacuated from Tripoli in Lebanon on Saturday as Israel continued to conduct strikes on the country.

The continuous Israeli bombardment across Lebanon has killed over 2,000 people in the last few weeks, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

According to the government, 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes as a result of the intensified strikes.

Medline, originally a shipping company, has fitted out a cargo ship offering trips across the Mediterranean Sea to Mersin in Turkey.

Tickets costs $250 a person and the trip takes 12-15 hours.

It is offering a new route for thousands of people trying to escape.

Only the local airline company Middle East airlines is operating flights out of the country, leaving thousands of people scrambling to flee for safety.

Mohammad Al Youssef is the owner of Medline, he said around 400 passengers were leaving on the ship on Saturday.

He said the company is offering up to four trips a week.

AP video by Yahya Al Habashty

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