The Netherlands is organising two evacuation flights from Lebanon later this week to repatriate Dutch citizens after Israeli troops crossed the border on Tuesday.

Defence minister Ruben Brekelmans said two military aircraft would be dispatched on Friday and Saturday to bring stranded Dutch nationals home, after the government had initially told people to make their own arrangements.

A spokesman for the ministry acknowledged that the security situation was becoming increasingly difficult after Israel began what it called a “limited, localised and targeted” ground offensive against Hezbollah.

“We see it is becoming increasingly difficult for Dutch nationals to leave Lebanon. We will actively help Dutch nationals leave the country,” the spokesman said.

Defensie biedt komende dagen militair luchttransport aan voor de repatriëring van Nederlanders uit Libanon. Vluchten zijn gepland op 4 en 5 oktober.

We treffen ook voorbereidingen voor een eventuele evacuatie en monitoren de situatie in Israël: ➡️ https://t.co/iFmsWq3fAw pic.twitter.com/caDAgnCFSo

— Ruben Brekelmans (@DefensieMin) October 2, 2024

The Israeli Defence Force is also carrying out air strikes in southern suburbs of Beirut, close to Rafik Hariri International Airport, the only departure point in the country for civilian flights.

On Tuesday there were reports of long waiting lists for tickets out of Beirut on Middle Eastern Airlines, the only carrier still operating flights from Lebanon.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency told airlines on Monday to avoid Lebanese and Israeli airspace because the conflict posed a “high risk to civil aviation”. The only other route out of Lebanon is by boat to Turkey or Cyprus.

KLM has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until the end of the year, while Transavia has suspended its service to Beirut for a month and will not fly to Tel Aviv before March next year at the earliest.

The Dutch embassy in Beirut said it did not have exact numbers of how many of its citizens are living in Lebanon because there is not official register of names and addresses. But foreign affairs minister Casper Veldkamp said he expected “several hundred” people to be on board the repatriation flights.

The government said it was making preparations for an evacuation and strengthening its “logistical footprint” in Cyprus as it draws up “various scenarios for a potential repatriation”.