UK military on standby for possible Lebanon evacuation

More than a thousand British military personnel have been put on standby in case British nationals need to be evacuated from Lebanon.

Preparations are being made in response to 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.

An estimated 16,000 British people are currently in Lebanon, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons last week.

Hundreds of troops have been sent to Cyprus, where the UK already has a military presence.

Meanwhile, in the UK, hundreds more troops have been put on notice – meaning they are ready to be deployed to the region if necessary.

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 defence 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 neighbours 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 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.