The government has decided to ban the export of Nepali labourers to Lebanon and Israel in view of the deepening conflict there.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, Dhruba Kumar Sharma, told the state-run Radio Nepal Wednesday that no manpower companies would be given permission to send labourers to Lebanon and Israel while the permission already issued for companies would also be cancelled.

“At a time when the government is working to rescue the Nepalis based in Lebanon in view of the ongoing conflict, giving permission to send labourers won’t be a good idea. The government has decided to halt the export to labour to both Lebanon and Israel at institutional as well as individual level,” he said. The ban will be effective until further decision, he informed.

He said the government does not have any record of Nepalis working in the two Middle East nations as most job seekers land there through personal contacts with manpower agents. Nepali women are also said to be in considerable numbers in Lebanon and Israel, most of whom are employed as domestic help.

Unofficial estimates say there are over 4,000 Nepalis working in Lebanon while the number of Nepalis in Israel is unclear.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said there are no casualties of Nepalis in Israeli attacks in Lebanon so far. A total of 42 Nepalis rescued from Lebanon have arrived in Nepal via India with the help of Indian authorities while four others are due to arrive from India.