Nearly 70 Taiwanese living in Lebanon and Israel have confirmed their safety to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries, an official said yesterday.
Victor Tseng, director of the ministry's Department of Western Asian Affairs, said there were about 35 Taiwanese in Lebanon and 40 in Israel.
So far, no Taiwanese casualties have been reported, he added.
The director said most of the Taiwanese expatriates were women married to foreigners, and their children.
Tseng said that as it is currently summer vacation, many of the Taiwanese families who live in Beirut were spending their holidays elsewhere.
However, a woman surnamed Lo and three of her children were evacuated from Beirut last Sunday to Amman, Jordan, with the assistance of Taiwan's diplomatic staff in Jordan.
Another Taiwanese woman, surnamed Chen, did not plan to leave Beirut as she said her residence was in a relatively safe part of the city.
A third woman, surnamed Chiang, who has dual Taiwanese-Canadian citizenship, had just recently delivered a baby by cesarean section and planned to stay in Beirut for the time being, the official said.
Tseng said the Taiwanese in Israel were all safe and sound, except for one female Taiwanese national surnamed Hsiao, whose neighborhood had been frequently bombarded.
"Ms. Hsiao has moved with her Israeli family to an air-raid shelter and so far has no plans to leave the country," Tseng said, citing a report from Taiwan's representative office in Tel-Aviv.
The ministry issued a red alert travel advisory on Israel and Lebanon last Friday, advising Taiwanese to avoid traveling to these countries until the alert is lifted.
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