Hundreds of Americans leave Lebanon on US contract flights

The US State Department says some 350 American citizens, green card holders and family members have now left Lebanon on US-organized contract flights this week, Report informs via AP.

The department announced the new number — up by about 100 since October 3 — after another flight from Beirut landed early Friday in Frankfurt, Germany. The flight had the capacity to carry 300 passengers but only 97 people were aboard, it said.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Thursday that the US would continue to organize such flights as long as the security situation in Lebanon is dire and as long as there is demand.

More than 6,000 American citizens have contacted the US embassy in Beirut seeking information about departing the country over the past week since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated. Miller said the department understood that some Americans, many of them dual US-Lebanese nationals and long-time residents of the country, may choose to stay.