Kazakhstan has evacuated several dozen Kazakh citizens and their family members from Lebanon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. It cited “escalating tensions in the Middle East,” a reference to fighting between Israel and its Iran-backed enemies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“This operation was organized through Istanbul and Dubai, resulting in the safe return of 41 people to Astana and Almaty from Beirut between October 17-31, 2024,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The evacuation was conducted to protect the rights and interests of citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan who were in the conflict zone,” it said.
Other countries have also organized evacuations of their citizens from Lebanon. Türkiye assisted in the air evacuations of more than 2,000 people from 21 countries, including Uzbekistan, Türkiye’s state Anadolu Agency reported last month.
Israeli air strikes have pounded parts of Lebanon and Israeli forces launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon last month, a year after Hezbollah started firing rockets and other projectiles into Israel in support of Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza. The Hezbollah action was a show of solidarity with Hamas in the war that broke out after its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Iran, meanwhile, has directly threatened Israel with retaliation for Israeli air strikes on Iranian targets last month, the latest in a series of tit-for-tat attacks between the two adversaries. The United States said it was sending more military aircraft to the region to deter Iran.
