Weary but relieved, hundreds of Turkish citizens and their families arrived in southern Türkiye late Thursday after being evacuated from war-ravaged Lebanon aboard two naval ships dispatched by Ankara.
"The situation is very bad back in Beirut. My kids were very scared. We are the lucky ones," Esra Göngü, a mother in her thirties, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on disembarking from the TCG Bayraktar, which docked at 9:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) after a 13-hour journey.
A second boat, the TCG Sancaktar, was to land at midnight, officials said.
Between them, they were carrying 966 refugees who had asked the Turkish Embassy to be evacuated amid escalating Israeli bombardments in Lebanon's south and east and bombardments of Beirut's southern suburbs.
Besides the Turkish citizens, people from other countries, including Bulgaria, Romania and Kazakhstan, were among those who applied to evacuate on the ships. Officials did not provide numbers.
"Israel's aggression has severely impacted Lebanon and our brothers here," Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Barış Ulusoy, standing in front of the Bayraktar before it departed from Beirut.
"We are carrying out an operation today with two aims: to provide humanitarian aid to our Lebanese brothers and to ensure the safe return of our citizens who are in a difficult situation," Ulusoy said.
"It was a long and exhausting journey but we will be at peace here," said Ismail Baysal, who was planning to travel to Istanbul with his family.
"It was not easy in Beirut. Israel drops bombs every day. The noises went on uninterrupted until 4:00 am," he said.
But he insisted he would "go back to Lebanon once this war is over."
Beirut under bombardment
At the port, soldiers could be seen helping the passengers disembark, one carrying a crying toddler, while another pushed a boy in a wheelchair.
Still others helped the elderly or carried bags, an AFP correspondent said.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry said some 2,500 people had signed up to leave but only "around 1,000 turned up" with some changing their minds "at the last minute."
"We lived under the threat of bombs with no food, no electricity. They hit the buildings," said a woman in her 40s called Sevim Abu Shakir, from the southern Lebanese port of Sidon.
Several hours after the boats left, Israel pounded central Beirut with a deadly air strike which left 22 dead and more than 115 wounded, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.
More evacuations if necessary
A young woman told AFP she was very worried about relatives who had stayed behind in Beirut.
"Lebanon is a small country. Beirut is no longer safe. A few moments ago there were strikes. I still have relatives back there and it is very dangerous," Safa Coşkun said.
"I am happy Türkiye has not abandoned us."
Türkiye is estimated to have 14,000 citizens registered with its consulate in Lebanon and has pledged to carry out more evacuations if necessary.
Its embassy said Wednesday preparations were underway to organize "a limited number of flights for a fee," with Foreign Ministry sources also pledging to send more ships "if necessary."
Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing more than 1,320 people, injuring over 3,700 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million.
The aerial campaign is an escalation in a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel's brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since an attack by Palestinian resistance group Hamas last year.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war, Israel expanded the strikes on Gaza by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.