Lebanese refugees fleeing Israeli strikes arrive in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey

A ship carrying hundreds of foreign nationals fleeing the violence in Lebanon arrived in Turkey on Thursday, as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict intensifies. The ship left the shores of Tripoli, before arriving at a port on Turkey's mediterranean coast.

According to Turkish news ageny IHA, those on board the ship will now travel to their home countries. The news agency added that the ship on which they made their journey was the third of its kind to arrive at the port in recent days.

The past 2 weeks have seen a sharp escalation in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israeli air strikes killing more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, according to local authorities. The violence has forced around 1 million people from their homes.

Several governments have called on their nationals to flee Lebanon as soon as they can.

Israel says its campaign aims to secure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents to northern Israel, who were forced to flee due to Hezbollah rocket attacks.

Hezbollah began exchanging fire with Israel in the wake of the October 7th Hamas attack. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group says its actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.