Britain said it would send forces to Cyprus to help evacuate its citizens stuck in Lebanon, where Israel has launched heavy raids on various Lebanese regions that have so far left more than 600 dead and two thousand injured.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged British citizens to leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still available, telling reporters: “It is very important that they hear my message, which is to leave immediately.”
The British government announced in a statement on Tuesday that 700 troops would go to Cyprus to reinforce the presence of British forces in the area where two transport ships and helicopters belonging to the British Royal Navy are already stationed.
The largest Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon in nearly two decades have raised growing fears that the conflict could spread in a way that would destabilize the Middle East region, which for nearly a year has witnessed continued Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip.
Heavy Israeli raids over the past two days have forced some 90,000 people to flee inside Lebanon, and in the capital Beirut, thousands of people who fled southern Lebanon are taking shelter in schools and government buildings.
Earlier, the United States, Australia, South Korea and Canada had called on their nationals residing in Lebanon to leave immediately due to the escalation of Israeli aggression on Lebanese territory.
On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby urged Americans in Lebanon to leave now while flights are available.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also called on her country’s citizens in Lebanon to expedite their departure before air traffic is halted, while the Canadian Foreign Ministry called on its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, noting that the situation in the region is volatile and tensions could escalate at any time.