Brazil begins plans to evacuate citizens from Lebanon, the largest Brazilian community in the Middle East

São Paulo, Brazil – Following conflict escalations between the Israeli government and Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has begun an evacuation plan for Brazilian citizens in the country who want to return to Brazil.

There are approximately 21,000 Brazilians living in Lebanon, making it the largest Brazilian community in the Middle East. At least 3,000 citizens have expressed their desire to leave the conflict area and return to Brazil.

Conflict has been ramping up in recent days. Early Tuesday morning, Israel announced that it had sent ground troops into Lebanon following intense shelling. Hours later, Iran, which backs Hezbollah, launched nearly 200 missiles into Israel in retaliation, and experts expect the Israeli military to respond with an attack of its own.

In response to the worsening situation, on Wednesday morning a Brazilian Air Force KC-30 aircraft took off from Rio de Janeiro bound for Beirut, the Lebanese capital. The plane has reportedly landed in Lisbon, Portugal and is awaiting authorization to enter Lebanon. The government has not commented on when the aircraft may return carrying the evacuated Brazilians.

According to reports, the first evacuation mission is expected to rescue around 220 people. Women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities will have priority on the repatriation list, the government said.

Brazil will use the same 240-seat aircraft that it used in 2023 when it repatriated 1,500 Brazilians from the Gaza Strip, following the outbreak of conflict between Israel and the  Hamas militant group in October of that year.

Other repatriation flights are due to take place by the end of the week but have not yet been officially confirmed by the Brazilian government.

So far, two Brazilians have been killed related to the conflict in Lebanon. On September 23, 16-year-old Mirna Raef Nasser and her father, a Lebanese citizen, were inside their home in the Bekaa Valley, approximately 30 miles from Beirut, when the property was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

Nasser, originally from Balneário Camboriú in the state of Santa Catarina, had returned home that afternoon with her father to retrieve clothing and school supplies after fleeing earlier due to fears of an impending strike, according to an uncle of the deceased who spoke with CNN Brasil.

Just two days later, 15-year-old Ali Kamal Abdallah, a Brazilian national, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Abdallah, originally from Foz do Iguaçu in the state of Paraná, was with his father, a Paraguayan citizen, who was also killed in the same strike.

During a visit to Mexico for the inauguration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, President Lula criticized the United Nations for its inability to mediate the conflict and condemned Israeli military actions.

“What I lament is the behavior of the Israeli government. Frankly, it is inexplicable that the U.N. Security Council lacks the moral and political authority to compel Israel to come to the negotiating table, rather than just knowing how to kill,” he said. The president has not commented publicly on the Iranian and Hezbollah attacks.