London Thanasis Gavos

Intensification of the plans of the British Ministry of Defense for a “massive” operation to evacuate Lebanon via Cyprus, according to a publication of the Times on Tuesday evening.

Amid fears of a generalization of the war with Israel, writes the newspaper’s defense editor, the deployment of around 700 British soldiers to Cyprus is imminent.

They will assist, if necessary, the hundreds of other soldiers already there, ready to help their compatriots in Lebanon.

Within Lebanese territory, moreover, there is an additional “small” number of British troops.

Officials from the Foreign Office and the UK Border Force will also be sent to Cyprus as part of the first step of this emergency response plan.

UK Defense Secretary John Healy rushed out of the Labor conference in Liverpool on Tuesday to head a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in London.

After meeting with members of the armed forces, security intelligence and diplomats, Mr Healy reiterated his call for Britons in Lebanon to leave the country immediately:

“The developments of the last hours and days have shown how fluid the situation is and for this our message is clear, British nationals should leave now».

He added that the meeting was held to confirm that the British authorities are ready for all eventualities and continued: “We continue to urge all sides to cease the conflict to prevent further tragic loss of life. Our government is making sure all preparations are in place to support British nationals should the situation worsen. I want to thank the British staff deployed in the region for their dedication and professionalism».

The British government estimates that perhaps as many as 10,000 British citizens remain in Lebanon, despite Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s two-month-old call for them to leave the country while commercial flights remain.

Many thousands of them will want to leave if the security situation worsens.

British officials reportedly fear Israel will bomb Beirut’s international airport, as it did in 2006, or the roads leading there, leaving British citizens trapped.

In such a case an evacuation will be attempted by military transport aircraft, but it may be necessary to use the warships HMS Duncan and RFA Mounts Bay which have been in the eastern Mediterranean for some months.

From the floor of the Labor conference and shortly before leaving for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “restraint and de-escalation” on the Israel-Lebanon border.

In New York, moreover, Mr Starmer will again discuss the possibility of giving the Ukrainians permission to use Britain’s long-range Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russian territory.