The number of requests to a helpline on Lebanon for South Africans have been ”manageable”, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
”It has not been too hectic, it is manageable,” said spokesperson Nomfanelo Kota.
The department set up a hotline for South Africans with Lebanese links, and by Sunday 20 South Africans trapped in that country had been helped by the department to cross the border to neighbouring Syria.
An update of how many people they have assisted was being prepared, Kota said.
Israel began attacking targets in Lebanon last Wednesday in retaliation for Hezbollah guerrillas capturing two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
According to the Associated Press, foreign embassies in the region are scrambling to find ways of evacuating people.
Agence France-Presse reported that at dawn on Monday Israeli air force planes blew up the last two oil reserves at Beirut’s closed international airport.
The news agency calculates that over 165 people, including civilians, have died in the raids.
Kota urged South Africans to inform the Department of Foreign Affairs of their safe return from Lebanon on the hotline number 012-351-0035. – Sapa