Beirut: For hundreds of worried refugees waiting in Beirut to be transported to safety in Larnaca, Cyprus, the four Indian Navy ships are on a mission more essential than anything else.
Caught in the crossfire of the Lebanon-Israel conflict, the Indians are now in a hurry to leave for their motherland.
As Israeli strikes continued to pound targets in Lebanon, even destroying a suburb of capital Beirut, hundreds of Indians like Paramjit Kanwar and his wife Lakshmi say it's the end of a life as they knew it.
Paramjit and Lakshmi were waiting at the port in Beirut, waiting to catch the next ship home.
Paramjit says, “This time the fight is intense here. The situation was not like this before. Israel is very powerful. We are scared of the bomb attacks.”
“It's difficult to manage things here with children. We are very much scared about the situation. It is very difficult to stay here so we are leaving," Paramjit's wife says.
The chefs at the ship's galley were making massive preparations for hundreds like them. They say they are used to feeding 500 men. Now they are cooking for more than double that figure.
Among those who will be catered to are dozens of Nepali citizens, even some Lebanese citizens – who say they are grateful to India for helping them leave.
A Lebanese says, “We would like to have peace and a safe country where we can leave without any problems.”
Meanwhile, peace remains elusive so far in this part of Middle East though Lebanon is now pursuing an exchange of prisoners to end the conflict.
The death toll continues to mount, 365 in Lebanon, 37 in Israel. The injured, though, are countless.
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