Britain is stepping up preparations for the possible evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon following last week’s assassinations in Beirut and Tehran blamed on Israel that threaten to turn the war in Gaza into a region-wide conflict.
Consular experts, border patrol officers and military personnel have been deployed to the region as part of plans to prepare for “a range of conflict scenarios,” the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement said the amphibious assault ships RFA Cardigan Bay and HMS Duncan were already in the eastern Mediterranean, with the Royal Air Force keeping transport helicopters on standby.
The UK does not foresee an imminent need to evacuate its nationals from Lebanon, but Observer It is understood the decision to keep the troops on standby was taken after Defence Secretary John Healey and Israeli Foreign Minister Yoav Gallant held talks on Friday with Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy during their visit to the region.
The government on Saturday repeated its call for British nationals in Lebanon to leave the country “while there are still commercial options available”, following the lead of the United States and several other countries. Dozens of airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon and Israel over the past week.
The US Embassy in Beirut said: “Anyone wishing to leave Lebanon is encouraged to book any available flight, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not take their first choice route. US citizens who do not have the funds to return to the US can contact the embassy for financial assistance through a repatriation loan. US citizens who choose not to leave Lebanon are encouraged to prepare contingency plans for any emergency and prepare for prolonged evacuation.”
Locals were conflicted: “I don’t feel scared, but I’m confused about what to do. What’s the best option? Should I stay or should I leave and start over somewhere else?” said Bruna Hassan Al Safawi, 23, a Brazilian of Lebanese descent.
Safawi’s house is not far from Beirut airport, which for most people is effectively the only way into and out of the country because the city is surrounded by Syrian and Israeli territory.
“If I can still see the plane landing, then OK, I’m safe. Once I can’t see the plane, I’ll start packing my things,” she said.
In Israel’s northernmost city of Haifa, bars and restaurants usually packed on summer nights were nearly empty on Friday. “I try not to think about it and carry on as usual, otherwise I would go crazy with worry,” said resident Leila Al Nasser, 26.
Several airlines announced this week that they would stop flying to Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Insurance risks due to growing fears of conflict have led Lufthansa Group, Air France and Polish airline LOT to suspend routes to the Lebanese capital.
The Western ambassadors Observer The chaos has increased the likelihood of evacuations “because people will not be able to evacuate naturally. Around 70% of the airlines that would normally fly there have now cancelled,” they said. “We are watching very closely. An evacuation scenario could also involve Israel, which would be multi-agency.”
Cyprus, the easternmost of the neighboring EU member states, is on standby to help evacuate civilians from the Middle East and has plans to serve as a regional hub if conflict escalates. Underscoring the role the Mediterranean island will play, Sweden’s ambassador to Lebanon moved to the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, last week.
Concerns grew over the weekend that the war in Gaza was on the verge of transforming into a conflict involving the wider Middle East after Iran said on Saturday it expected its Lebanese ally, the powerful Shiite militia Hezbollah, to launch attacks deeper into Israel and no longer be limited to attacks on military targets.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging tit-for-tat attacks since Oct. 7, when Lebanese militias opened fire on Israel, ostensibly in support of their Palestinian allies, a day after Hamas attacked Israel. Parallel to the fighting in Gaza, conflict along the Blue Line that separates the two countries has been steadily escalating over the past 10 months, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides to flee their homes.
Tensions reached unprecedented levels this week following the successive assassinations of Hezbollah’s number two, Fouad Shukr, and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel has pleaded guilty to killing Shukr in a missile attack on a Beirut apartment Tuesday evening that killed four others and wounded about 70. Israel said he also took responsibility for a rocket attack last weekend that killed 12 children and young people playing soccer in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Hezbollah denies the attack.
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Shukr’s killing was overshadowed hours later by news that Haniyeh had been assassinated while in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president. There were conflicting reports about how he was killed. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Saturday that the Qatar-based official had been killed with a short-range missile weighing about seven kilograms.
Both Hezbollah and Iran have vowed to retaliate for the killing. A statement from the Revolutionary Guards said Tehran’s retaliation for the attack would be “strict” and “at the right time, place and manner,” and blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death. Israel has not commented on the death of a Hamas leader but has carried out targeted assassinations on Iranian territory in the past.
Speaking at Shukr’s funeral on Thursday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah for the first time severed ties between the Lebanese Front and Gaza, saying “the issue has gone beyond the aid front” and that the conflict with Israel “has entered a new phase.”
The United States, Israel’s most important ally, said on Friday it was sending additional warships and fighter jets to the region to “protect U.S. personnel and defend Israel” as the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance” prepares a response to Haniya’s killing.
The fighting in Gaza has also drawn in militant groups from Syria, Iraq and Yemen, who have fired drones and missiles at Israeli and US facilities in the region. Tehran launched its first direct attack on Israel in April after an attack blamed on Israel killed several senior Revolutionary Guard officers at its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The barrage of 300 missiles and drones was well-anticipated and allowed Israel’s allies to mount an effective air defense response. Iran’s actions this time are expected to be stronger and may take the form of a coordinated attack.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who has pressed for a ceasefire in Gaza in recent months, said in comments late on Thursday that the killings were “unhelpful.”
Lamy met with US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Saturday, and a spokesman said they “reaffirmed the need to ease rising tensions in the Middle East and prevent an escalation of conflict. They also stressed the importance of concluding the negotiated ceasefire and hostage release agreement as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues in Gaza, where health officials in the Hamas-controlled area said Saturday that some 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far. The United Nations said this week that some 40,000 cases of Hepatitis A have been confirmed in the besieged Palestinian territory and that the health situation “continues to deteriorate.”
Two Israeli airstrikes killed nine Palestinian militants in the West Bank on Saturday, the Israeli military said. Violence flared up again in the Israeli-occupied territories amid rising tensions over the war in Gaza and a possible escalation of the regional conflict. Israel said it targeted a militant group in Tulkarem that was planning attacks on Israelis.
The conflict erupted after an Oct. 7 Hamas attack left some 1,200 Israelis dead and another 250 taken hostage. An initial ceasefire in November collapsed within a week and protracted negotiations since then aimed at agreeing a ceasefire and the release of the hostages have so far been unsuccessful.
