Fearing Israeli attacks on airport, Lebanese leave by sea

Hassan Alik, fleeing escalating violence in the Israel-Hezbollah war, left Lebanon on Saturday aboard a ship to avoid Beirut's airport, which he feared "could be bombed" at any moment.

The 31-year-old travelled to the northern port of Tripoli, on Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, which has so far been spared Israeli bombardment in a month of intense fighting across much of the tiny country.

And though Lebanon's only international airport has not been hit either, Israel's military last month warned it could strike there to stop weapons transfers to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Since then, many Lebanese seeking safety abroad have favoured the 13-hour sea trip to Turkey aboard cargo ships adapted for passengers, instead of flying from Beirut's airport, which was targeted during Israel's last major war with Hezbollah in 2006.

"I'm travelling from here because I'm afraid to go through the airport," said Alik at the Tripoli port.

"If I buy a plane ticket the airport could be bombed," said the man from the densely-packed south Beirut suburbs -- a Hezbollah stronghold that has seen heavy bombardment over the past weeks.

On September 23, Israel launched an intense air campaign on Lebanon and later sent in ground forces after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group over the Gaza war.

Since then, the war has left at least 1,454 people dead in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.

With the exception of national carrier Middle East Airlines, most companies have stopped serving Beirut's airport due to the violence.

- 'Not safe' -

The massive ships at the Tripoli port used to carry cargo to Turkey's southern shores five times a week, but about a year ago they started carrying passengers too, selling tickets for about $350, said captain Salem Jleilati.

But demand has soared since September, from about 150 passengers a week to at least 900, he said.

Muammar Malas, 52, from Lebanon's north, said he "chose to travel by boat because it's difficult to reach the" airport in Beirut, which is "very close to the southern suburbs", a Hezbollah bastion.

The cargo vessels are not designed to carry passengers, "but we are forced to use them," said Malas.

More than one million people have fled the violence across Lebanon, officials have said.

Mohammad Hawar, 22, has been displaced twice, first from the southern city of Nabatiyeh -- where intense Israeli strikes this week killed a few dozen people -- and then from south Beirut.

"The best thing to do now is flee Lebanon," he told AFP as he boarded the boat.

Passenger Israa Sweidan, a Palestinian woman from the nearby Beddawi refugee camp which has also been targeted by strikes, said the sea journey out of Tripoli was "currently the safest option in Lebanon".