Kenya has received 21 evacuees from war-stricken Lebanon.

This comes weeks after Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi revealed that at least 7,119 have registered for evacuation from the conflict-ridden Middle East nation.

The evacuees were received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) by the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu.

“This morning at 5:30 am we received another 21 evacuees from Lebanon at JKIA. They were happy and thanked the Government for its rescue efforts. Thank you colleagues across the multi-agency team for working with the SDDA to protect the rights of Kenyans abroad,” Njogu stated.

The 21 adds to the 35 who have been evacuated previously from the country.

“Through the Kenya Embassy in Kuwait in liaison with the Honorary Consul in Lebanon, the government has kept abreast of daily developments with ensuring that Kenyans in Lebanon are adequately advised on safety measures to take pending their evacuation,” Mudavadi said in October.

Mudavadi was however economical with information on the time it would take to evacuate the over 7,000 Kenyans stranded in the war-torn nation.

“That’s why I said we are looking at other means. I did indicate that we are also considering the possibility of evacuation by sea so that you can get people to be sailed to a different destination and then from there you make arrangements,” Mudavadi said.

AP reports that the 13-month war between Israel and Hezbollah has killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon, according to the country’s Health Ministry, more than double the number of people killed since their last major war two decades ago.

Israel began a ground invasion of south Lebanon on October 1, 2024, causing wide destruction in border villages but making little advances on the ground inside Lebanon. Israel says it is destroying Hezbollah weapons and command centres near the border, including an extensive tunnel system built by Hezbollah.