Raízes do Cedro: fifth flight takes off from Lebanon with 220 repatriates

Another Brazilian Air Force (FAB) flight left Beirut, capital of Lebanon, this Sunday (13), bringing 220 repatriates to Brazil. The KC-30 plane from Operation Raízes do Cedro took off at 12 pm (Brasília time). The aircraft will stop for refueling in Lisbon, Portugal, and is expected to arrive at the São Paulo Air Base, in Guarulhos (SP), on Monday morning (14).

Among those rescued are ten infants. Two pets are also boarded. This is the fifth rescue flight for Brazilians, bringing the number of repatriates to 1,105, in addition to 13 pets.

Operation Cedar Roots began after Israel launched air strikes and a ground offensive against the Arab country, the base of Hezbollah, a Muslim political group with a strong armed wing. Cedar is a reference to the tree that features the Lebanese national flag.

According to the Brazilian government, around 20 thousand Brazilians live in the country located in the Middle East. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) estimates that 3,000 are interested in leaving the country on FAB flights.

The first 229 repatriated Brazilians arrived last Sunday morning (6) at the São Paulo Air Base and were welcomed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The flight that left Beirut this Sunday left Brazil on Saturday (12) with the fourth load of donations for the Lebanese population. The aircraft transported 1,400 basic food baskets and 6,900 packages of medicines collected by the humanitarian fund Associação Unidos pelo Libano (()), an initiative of the Lebanese community in Brazil.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Brazilian Embassy in Beirut, is in contact with Brazilians and close family members to provide consular assistance and verify the need to promote a new repatriation flight, depending on security conditions in the region.

The consular duty numbers are +55 (61) 98260-0610 and +55 61 98313-0146, both with WhatsApp.