UK Military Ready for Possible Lebanon Evacuation

Over one thousand British military personnel have been put on standby in case British nationals need to be evacuated from Lebanon.

Plans are also in place since a Foreign Office warning that the situation in the Middle East could rapidly deteriorate.

On Saturday, the Foreign Office repeated a call for UK nationals to leave Lebanon – while confirming that preparations were underway to help with an evacuation of the country if necessary.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed the House of Commons last week that approximately 16,000 British citizens are currently in Lebanon.

In response, the UK has deployed hundreds of troops to Cyprus, where it already maintains a military presence. Additional troops in the UK have been put on notice, ready for possible deployment to the region if needed.

The UK’s military presence in Cyprus includes an RAF base at Akrotiri, which will likely serve as a hub for air operations. RAF Typhoon fighter jets stationed there have previously defended against an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel in April.

A statement from the Foreign Office over the weekend indicated that military personnel were being deployed to support UK embassies in the region, though it did not specify the number of troops involved. Additionally, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan and the landing ship RFA Cardigan Bay are already positioned in the Eastern Mediterranean, with RAF helicopters on standby.

Tensions in the Middle East have been rising since the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths and prompted a significant Israeli military response in Gaza. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, at least 39,480 Palestinians have been

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 co-ordinate 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.

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