Thousands flee Lebanon by road, sea
US sends ferry to Lebanon to begin its first major evacuation of Americans as thousands of foreigners pack bags to flee Israeli air strikes pounding country; Britain says two aircraft carriers among six of its ships in region ready to start rescuing its citizens from violence
Britain said two aircraft carriers, the HMS Illustrious and HMS Invincible, were among six of its ships in the region ready to start rescuing its citizens from the violence.
Other European nations mustered boats and planes to reach their nationals stranded by the bombing of Beirut airport and the destruction of roads and bridges.
Countries from as far away as Chile were making arrangements to reach their citizens.
Convoys of foreign nationals also traveled the hazardous route to Syria from Lebanon in a mass exodus to flee a seventh day of an Israeli bombardment which has killed at least 230 people in Lebanon, all but 26 of them civilians.
'I ran from hell'
The attacks were launched after Hizbullah fighters seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on July 12. At least 24 Israelis, 12 of them civilians, have been killed in Hizbullah rocket attacks.
"I ran from hell," Lebanese businessman Nassar Nassar told Romanian daily Adevarul on his return to Bucharest with his Romanian wife.
"I made it to Tripoli (in north Lebanon) where I took a taxi to Damascus ... On Friday, I took a plane to Vienna .... and then I came back to Bucharest," said Nassar who was in the western part of Beirut when the conflict began.
Swedish citizens evacuated from Beirut (Photo: AP)
The ferry commissioned by the United States, that can carry up to 1,000 people, left Cyprus on Tuesday morning and headed to the Lebanese coast and some of the 8,000 Americans registered as living in Lebanon were expected to board later in the day, a diplomatic source in Nicosia said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said a fleet of ships was in the region and ready to take up position.
"The first ship will come today so we can take far larger numbers out," Blair told reporters in London. "We are doing absolutely everything we can to make sure the evacuation happens as swiftly and properly as possible."
British ministers said around 12,000 British nationals and another 10,000 of dual nationality would be evacuated.
'Can't tell difference between night and day anymore'
France said it had transported 800 of its citizens by boat to Larnaca in Cyprus and would return to collect some of the 6,000 other French nationals.
"We are today obviously in talks with the Israeli authorities for this boat to be able to come and go," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told French television.
A Greek navy frigate arrived in Larnaca port on Tuesday, carrying around 400 Europeans from Beirut.
Many countries were sending planes to Damascus to collect some of the thousands arriving there by car.
A Spanish air force Boeing 707 flew 113 people out of the Syrian capital and more than 152 were being transported from Amman, the Foreign Ministry said.
Russia sent Emergencies Ministry aircraft to pick up its evacuees and nationals from neighboring former Soviet states.
In Dusseldorf, Germany, relatives broke down in tears of relief to hug their families arriving on planes carrying evacuees from Damascus in a joint operation between airline LTU and the German Foreign Ministry.
"I could hug the German authorities and just want to thank everyone," said German-Lebanese woman Iman Kouteich, who was visiting her parents near the Israeli border.
"We were just stuck in bunkers and could not tell the difference between night and day anymore," Kouteich said. "Without the help of the German embassy we would have never got out in one piece."
