Those gathering at the port said the deteriorating security situation and economic hardship in Lebanon prompted them to flee on the ships, which left Turkey on Tuesday.

"We cannot take this situation anymore. No one knows where this country is taking us. The siege is becoming bigger," said Issa Malak, who like many of the evacuees holds Lebanese as well as Turkish citizenship. "There is no bread here. There is no future in Lebanon."

Issa Malak, a Lebanese Turkish citizen, looks on next to his uncle who's ill, after an Interview with Reuters TV as they wait to register for boarding the Turkish navy ships to leave Lebanon.

The ships first unloaded humanitarian aid upon arriving in Beirut. Turkey's Defense Ministry said they were carrying some 300 tons of supplies.

Workers unload aid from a Turkish vessel at Beirut's port.

"There are beds, tents, blankets, food parcels, kitchenware and hygiene kits," Turkish Ambassador Ali Baris Ulusoy told state-owned Anadolu news agency.

A soldier stands guard near a Turkish vessel at Beirut's port.

Ahead of the ships' arrival, the passengers registered their papers and waited with their luggage.

"We're leaving because the rockets and shells started dropping on us," said Tarek Issa.

Mariam Darwish, who holds Turkish and Lebanese nationality, said she would travel with her 80-year-old Turkish father.

"The situation is becoming scary, and our neighborhood became unsafe," she said. "This is much safer for us and our children, our grandchildren and our health."

Mariam Darwish, a Lebanese Turkish citizen, looks on after an Interview with Reuters TV as she waits to register for boarding the Turkish navy ships to leave Lebanon.