Lebanese travel agents describe chaos amid surge in demand for tickets out of Beirut

Intensified Israeli air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon have created a surge in people desperate to leave the increasingly dangerous areas. Trapped in an escalating conflict, thousands of residents are struggling to flee the violence, which has already claimed more than 700 lives and left more than 100,000 displaced. The strikes, which have obliterated infrastructure and disrupted communications, have prompted around 118,000 people to move to safer areas, despite diminishing options. The air strikes follow previous Israeli attacks in which thousands of pagers and walkie talkies owned by Hezbollah blew up, killing dozens and injuring thousands. Mira Ali, a travel agent in Beirut told The National that she is working around the clock to get tickets for customers fleeing the conflict as well as those trapped outside the country. “It is chaos,” Ali said. “I have many people calling me to get them a ticket out of Beirut and I can’t accommodate them as all airlines suspended their flights. The only operating airline now is Middle East. I also have customers trapped in Turkey. They were away on vacation or for a business trip." An alternative option, said Ms Ali, was to cross the land border to Syria, or to head to the port in Tripoli to book a ferry to Mersin in Turkey. “There are boats to either Turkey or Cyprus. People who want to go to Cyprus need to have a visa while people going to Turkey can get a visa on arrival,” she added. Iraqi Airways was the latest airline to suspend flights to Lebanon until further notice, stating on social media that the cancellation of the route was due to the "deteriorating situation in Lebanon".<br/>