British troops in Lebanon on standby for evacuation ‘on same scale’ as Kabul

Hundreds of servicemen and women are ready in the UK to be deployed to the region at short notice as fears for an all-out war grow

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila (AFP via Getty Images)

More than 1,000 British military personnel are on standby for a possible evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon “on the same scale” as the operation during the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

Soldiers, Royal Marine commandos, sailors and aviators have been deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus which is just 45 minutes by air from Lebanon and will act as a hub if there is an evacuation mission. Hundreds more men and women are ready in the UK to be deployed to the region at short notice, The Times reports.

The Foreign Office has repeatedly called for its nationals to leave the country after the killings last week of two militant leaders in Lebanon’s capital Beirut and Iran’s capital Tehran – both attributed to Israel – brought vows of revenge from the militant group Hezbollah.

Passengers whose flights were cancelled, wait at the departure terminal of Beirut’s airport (AP)

There are now real fears of an all-out war that would be even worse than the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, believed to have killed around 1,300 Lebanese people and 165 Israelis. Israel warned Dahiyeh, a neighbourhood in Beirut, would be flattened in the next conflict.

The military has prepared for an evacuation on the same scale as the infamous operation to rescue people from Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul during the Taliban takeover in 2021, according to The Times.

Operation Pitting, as it was formally known, saw more than 1,000 military personnel airlift 15,000 people to safety on more than 100 flights in the largest British evacuation since the Second World War.

As many as 16,000 British nationals are thought to currently be in Lebanon, foreign secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons last week. He has urged them to leave, saying: “Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly. While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear – leave now.”

Neither Israeli nor Lebanese officials have issued any orders to evacuate or prepare, even as many airlines have suspended service.

The US embassy in Beirut also issued a security alert on Saturday to encourage American citizens in the country “to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route”

Hezbollah legislator Amin Sherri said the government has an emergency plan in case of all-out war and the country has enough fuel and medicine to last between two and four months. Huge diplomatic efforts, led by the United States, have been underway, trying to prevent the explosion of a full-scale Middle East war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report