Lula receives Brazilians repatriated from Lebanon

In two weeks of Israeli bombings in Lebanon, more than 2,000 people have already been killed, including Brazilian citizens. In this way, the federal government acted quickly to carry out the first repatriation flight that arrived this Sunday morning (6), at the São Paulo Air Base, in Guarulhos.

President Lula, after voting in São Bernardo do Campo (SP), went to welcome Brazilians rescued by operation Raízes do Cedro, carried out by the Brazilian Air Force with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE). 229 Brazilians and three domestic animals came on the flight. In this rescue, priority was given to the elderly, pregnant women, children and the sick.

Read more: Israel brings war to Beirut and forces Lebanese army to respond

This was just the first stage of the operation that aims to bring up to 500 people per week. The MRE estimates that more than 3 thousand Brazilians want to return to the country to escape the horror of war imposed by Israel.

The FAB KC-30 aircraft left Beirut, capital of Lebanon, on Saturday (5), at 1:18 pm (Brasília time). It made a technical stop in Portugal to refuel and arrived in Brazil this Sunday, exactly at 10:25 am.

Lebanon has a community of around 20 thousand Brazilians.