Weary but relieved, hundreds of Turkish citizens and their families arrived in southern Türkiye late Thursday after being evacuated from war-ravaged Lebanon aboard two naval ships dispatched by Ankara.

A second boat, the TCG Sancaktar, was to land at midnight, officials said.

Between the two Turkish naval vessels, they were carrying 966 refugees who had asked the Turkish Embassy to be evacuated amid escalating Israeli bombardments in Lebanon’s south and east and bombardments of Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Besides the Turkish citizens, people from other countries, including Bulgaria, Romania and Kazakhstan, were among those who applied to evacuate on the ships. Officials did not provide numbers.

“Israel’s aggression has severely impacted Lebanon and our brothers here,” Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Barış Ulusoy said, standing in front of the Bayraktar before it departed from Beirut.

“We are carrying out an operation today with two aims: to provide humanitarian aid to our Lebanese brothers and to ensure the safe return of our citizens who are in a difficult situation,” Ulusoy said.

Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry said some 2,500 people had signed up to leave but only “around 1,000 turned up” with some changing their minds “at the last minute.”

“We lived under the threat of bombs with no food, no electricity. They hit the buildings,” said a woman in her 40s called Sevim Abu Shakir, from the southern Lebanese port of Sidon.

Several hours after the boats left, Israel pounded central Beirut with a deadly air strike which left 22 dead and more than 115 wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

Türkiye is estimated to have 14,000 citizens registered with its consulate in Lebanon and has pledged to carry out more evacuations if necessary.

Ankara said Wednesday preparations were underway to organize “a limited number of flights for a fee,” with Foreign Ministry sources also pledging to send more ships “if necessary.”

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since September 23, killing more than 1,320 people, injuring over 3,700 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million.