UK military on standby for possible Lebanon evacuation
In case British citizens need to be evacuated from Lebanon, more than a thousand British military soldiers have been placed on standby.
In response to a warning from the Foreign Office that things could quickly get worse in the Middle East, preparations are underway.
The UK government’s request for its citizens to leave Lebanon was reiterated by the Foreign Office on Saturday, along with an announcement that plans were in place to assist in any eventual country evacuation.
According to Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s report to the House of Commons last week, there are currently approximately sixteen thousand Britons in Lebanon.
The UK already has a military presence in Cyprus, and now hundreds more troops have been transferred there.
Meanwhile, hundreds more troops in the UK have been placed on notice, indicating that they are prepared.
The UK already has a significant military presence in Cyprus.
An RAF base at Akrotiri is likely to be a hub for any air movements, with RAF Typhoon fighter jets already stationed there.
Those jets were involved in defense against an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel in April.
The statement released by the Foreign Office at the weekend said military personnel were in the process of deploying to provide operational support to UK embassies in the region. It did not mention the number of troops involved.
A Royal Navy destroyer – HMS Duncan – and a landing ship – RFA Cardigan Bay – are already in the Eastern Mediterranean.
RAF helicopters have also been placed on standby.
Tensions have been growing across the Middle East since the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October.
About 1,200 people were killed in the attack, triggering a massive Israeli military response in Gaza.
At least 39,480 Palestinians have been killed since, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Hostilities between Israel and its neighbors have escalated following the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last Wednesday – an attack Iran has blamed on Israel.
Haniyeh’s assassination came hours after Israel killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
In response, Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation against Israel.
Western officials fear that Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia and political movement based in Lebanon, could play a key role in any such retaliation, which in turn could spark a serious Israeli response.
The US, the UK, Australia, France, Canada, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, and Jordan are among the countries to have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.
Last year, the British government helped coordinate the evacuation of British nationals from Gaza, with some 200 UK citizens thought to be living in the territory before the war broke out.
In 2021, over 15,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan to the UK after the country fell to the Taliban.
