FAB aircraft picked up Brazilians who were in the country due to the escalation of tension between Israel and the Hezbollah group
The plane with Brazilians repatriated from Lebanon arrived this Sunday morning (Oct 6, 2024) in Brazil. The KC-30 model aircraft, from the FAB (Brazilian Air Force), landed at 10:25 am at the São Paulo Air Base, in Guarulhos.
The operation to repatriate Brazilians who were in the country was called “Roots of the Cedar”, in reference to the flag of Lebanon, which contains an image of the tree in the center.
At least 3,000 of the 21,000 Brazilians living in Lebanon filled out the Itamaraty repatriation form.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself reported that it has been recommending people leave that country for months. The recommendations have been intensified in recent weeks. Still, many Brazilians preferred to stay.
CONFLICT IN LEBANON
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group have been fighting on the border since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, after an attack by Hamas, an ally of the Lebanese extremist group.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensified after 2 attacks on communication devices used by the extremist group. Lebanon accuses the Jewish country, which denies responsibility. The explosions of pagers and walkie talkies last week left at least 32 dead and more than 3,000 injured.
Tensions escalated further after Israel launched a major airstrike on September 23 and prompted an evacuation of Lebanese. Another Israeli attack the following day raised the death toll to 558. The country claims the operations target Hezbollah leaders.
Since then, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has been carrying out daily attacks on locations that, according to the military, are linked to the extremist group Hezbollah. These are the most intense air attacks in almost a year of conflict in the region.
FAB CRITERIA
According to the Brazilian Air Force, as determined by the president’s government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Brazilians chosen to be on flights from Lebanon to Brazil would have to meet some criteria. Elderly people, pregnant women, sick people or anyone who does not have the resources to buy a plane ticket on a commercial flight would be some of the requirements.
The FAB did not say exactly how the screening was carried out for the approximately 220 Brazilians who boarded the 1st flight that left Beirut on the KC-30 on Saturday (Oct 5). Photos published on the Planalto website do not show passengers with clear signs of hyposufficiency (a condition of those who do not have the economic conditions to support themselves).
So far, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, has not disclosed the detailed costs of a similar FAB operation in October 2023 (after the Hamas attack on Israel), when Brazilians who were in the Jewish country were brought to Brazil on flights officers. There are no clear statistics on how many were repatriated from Israel, the cost of travel and whether all those benefited in fact could not afford to leave the country on commercial flights.
Now, in the same way, José Múcio Monteiro participated in an interview with the media on Friday (Oct 4) and did not give any type of detailed information about the costs of bringing Brazilians who are in Lebanon.
Until this Sunday (Oct 6), There are commercial flights from Beirut to São Paulo. When this post was published, the Google flight options search tool indicated that a flight from Beirut to São Paulo, in economy class, could be purchased for R$28,430
At this price, 220 tickets would cost Brazilian tax payers R$6.2 million. It is not known whether the KC-30 flight to Lebanon cost more or less than that.
The FAB, the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Palácio do Planalto did not respond to questions from the Power360 regarding the operation that intends to bring around 3,000 Brazilians from Lebanon to Brazil. Here are the questions sent:
- Would it be cheaper and faster to buy tickets on commercial flights from Beirut to São Paulo and deliver them to low-income Brazilians in Lebanon?;
- The photos of Brazilian passengers who boarded the FAB plane on Saturday (Oct 4, 2024) do not clearly indicate that they are disabled people. What was the criteria for choosing these people to enjoy this benefit?;
- How much is estimated to be spent to bring the approximately 3,000 Brazilians who expressed interest in leaving Lebanon free of charge on FAB flights?;
- How much did the FAB operation cost in 2023 to bring Brazilians who wanted to leave Israel? How many flights were carried out and how many people were brought to Brazil last year?
If and when responses are sent to the May360this digital newspaper will update this post.
OTHER COUNTRIES
Some countries do what Brazil does and send military planes to Lebanon to facilitate the departure of their citizens from that country.
There are cases in which countries work to ask commercial companies to increase the number of seats available on career flights.
You United Statesfor example, estimate that there are 86,000 citizens living in Lebanon (in comparison, there are around 21,000 Brazilians in that country). So far, the White House has only sent soldiers to Cyprus to help evacuate people, but has not sent military planes to carry out repatriation. The US government, according to the State Department, has talked to airlines to increase flight frequency and offer more seats for Americans.
THE United Kingdom decided to charter commercial planes to help the British leave Beirut. Second reported the BBCthe priority was couples with children under 18 and vulnerable people. But the benefit is not free: to get on the flight, each passenger has to pay one fee of 350 pounds per seat –around 2,500. In 2023, the British government had already done something similar, charging a fee to each citizen who wanted to leave Israel when the Jewish country was attacked by Hamas.
#Plane #Brazilians #repatriated #Lebanon #arrives #Brazil