"If the strikes continue at the pace that we see, I do not know when we will be able to rescue citizens or whether we will get to evacuate all Brazilians in Lebanon wishing to leave the country," said the minister.

Amorim said that Brazilian diplomats had been struggling to getinto Lebanon, as Israel did not provide vehicles that can cross the Lebanese border with any guarantee of safety.

The Israelis are not giving guarantees to individual vehicles any more, added the minister.

More than 2,200 Brazilians have left Lebanon since Israel started bombing the country in July, most of them through a major rescue operation by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.