The FPS State Department said on Tuesday that around 50 Belgians registered in foreign affairs were currently in the Gaza Strip, updating the number of twenty mentioned on Sunday. Forty of them pass through and register on the Travelers Online site. Ten others are recorded in consular records. The number of Belgians passing through Israel has also increased. The State Department says 200 have been registered.
About 10,000 Belgians are also registered at the Belgian Embassy in Tel Aviv, responsible for Israel, and nearly 3,000 at the Consulate in Jerusalem, responsible for Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territory. Most of them have dual Belgian-Israeli or Belgian-Palestinian nationality. “The current number should probably be lower because many of our comrades have already left the country via Jordan”However, FPS Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Nicolas Fierens Gevaert qualifies.
As it is possible for the Belgians to leave Israel themselves, there is no question of leaving now. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely in the coming hours and days.”Mr. Fearance Gevert notes.
The FPS State Department has also modified its travel advisory for Lebanon. All travel to the area south of the Litani River, about 20 kilometers from the Israeli border, is strongly discouraged.
Saturday and no Belgian casualties have been reported since the launch of the Hamas offensive in Israel and the subsequent Israeli military response.
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