Joint Press Release by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of Defence

The Federal Government crisis unit has decided to ask Germans to leave Lebanon due to the public reaction there to recent events in Gaza. German nationals are thus officially asked to leave Lebanon now. There are still commercial flights from Lebanon which can be used for this purpose.

The Federal Foreign Office will keep German nationals informed of the latest developments via the ELEFAND

register for emergency contact.

In close coordination with the Federal Foreign Office and in the light of developments, the Federal Ministry of Defence has decided to step up its response capability. This includes building up the planning and command capabilities of our task force for evacuation operations. These personnel belong to units that have successfully conducted the military evacuation operation in the Sudan.

The measures being taken are preparatory in nature, to ensure that we will be able to act even if the situation deteriorates. They do not constitute the start of a military evacuation. A mandate from the German Bundestag is not required for this level of readiness.