Afraid Israel will target Beirut airport, Lebanese increasingly leave by sea
Demand has surged for voyages to Turkey that normally only carry cargo, as residents say this is ‘currently the safest option’
TRIPOLI, Lebanon — Hassan Alik, fleeing escalating violence in the Israel-Hezbollah war, left Lebanon on Saturday aboard a ship to avoid Beirut’s airport, which he feared “could be bombed” at any moment.
The 31-year-old traveled to the northern port of Tripoli, on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast, which has so far been spared Israeli airstrikes during a month of intense fighting across much of the tiny country.
And though Lebanon’s only international airport has not been hit either, Israel’s military last month warned it could strike there to stop weapons transfers to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which has been launching daily attacks on Israel for over a year.
Since then, many Lebanese seeking safety abroad have favored the 13-hour sea trip to Turkey aboard cargo ships adapted for passengers, instead of flying from Beirut’s airport, which was targeted during Israel’s last major war with Hezbollah in 2006.
“I’m traveling from here because I’m afraid to go through the airport,” said Alik at the Tripoli port.
“If I buy a plane ticket, the airport could be bombed,” said the man from the densely packed south Beirut suburbs — a Hezbollah stronghold that has seen heavy bombardment over the past weeks.
With the exception of national carrier Middle East Airlines, most companies have stopped serving Beirut’s airport due to the violence.
‘Not safe’
The massive ships at the Tripoli port used to carry cargo to Turkey’s southern shores five times a week, but about a year ago they started carrying passengers too, selling tickets for about $350, said captain Salem Jleilati.
But demand has soared since the conflict intensified in September, from about 150 passengers a week to at least 900, he said.
Muammar Malas, 52, from Lebanon’s north, said he “chose to travel by boat because it’s difficult to reach the” airport in Beirut, which is “very close to the southern suburbs,” a Hezbollah bastion.
The cargo vessels are not designed to carry passengers, “but we are forced to use them,” said Malas.
More than one million people have fled the violence across Lebanon, officials have said.
Mohammad Hawar, 22, has been displaced twice, first from the southern city of Nabatiyeh — which saw intense Israeli strikes this week — and then from south Beirut.
“The best thing to do now is flee Lebanon,” he told AFP as he boarded the boat.
Passenger Israa Sweidan, a Palestinian woman from the nearby Beddawi refugee camp which has also been targeted by strikes, said the sea journey out of Tripoli was “currently the safest option in Lebanon.”
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war there against fellow Iranian proxy Hamas.
Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.
The attacks on northern Israel over the last year have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 43 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.
Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 516 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 94 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
These numbers have not been consistently updated since Israel began the new offensive against Hezbollah in September.
The IDF estimates that more than 1,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict.
The Times of Israel Community.