THOUSANDS of Brits could be rushed out of Lebanon as the Ministry of Defence devises a mass evacuation plan.
The country appears on the brink of hosting an all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, who are being bombarded by intensifying waves of airstrikes.
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The Sun in August reported crack Royal Marines were deployed to Cyprus with orders to prepare for a “non-combatant evacuation”.
Now more troops are expected to jet into the island – which lies in the Mediterranean about 160 miles west of Lebanon – to be on standby, The Times reported.
It’s also understood a smaller fleet of troops are already in Lebanon and stand ready to assist if the conflict spirals out of control.
The Foreign Office advises against all travel to Lebanon.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has already urged Brits currently there to leave “while commercial options remain”.
He wrote on X: “Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly.”
It’s feared there may be more than 10,000 British nationals still in Lebanon despite the alerts.
Pager and walkie-talkie explosions – followed by intense Israeli bombardments in recent days – have reportedly increased fears among UK defence chiefs.
Israel is vowing to keep ratcheting up the airstrikes against Hezbollah as they blitz the terror group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanese citizens in known Hezbollah strongholds to leave their homes and only return once his forces are finished blasting away their adversaries.
The Israeli Defence Force hit Hezbollah targets in a massive wave of airstrikes on Monday and Tuesday, many of which are civilian homes allegedly being used to store rockets.
At least 558 people have been killed, including dozens of children, and at least 1,835 injured, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Late Tuesday afternoon the IDF announced it had begun an “extensive wave” of attacks on “terrorist targets” in Lebanon.
US officials told CNN that Hezbollah has been significantly weakened by the attacks which had taken them backwards by about 20 years.
Israel has wiped out most of the terror group’s leadership in targeted strikes, including Ibrahim Aqil who was killed in an IDF blast on southern Beirut on Friday.
On Tuesday, leading commander Ibrahim Qubaisi in the group’s rocket division was killed in the suburbs of Beirut, Reuters reported.
Bombs have also targeted ammo stores, with clips of the strikes showing houses in residential areas being wiped.
The IDF claims Hezbollah are hiding cruise missiles, including medium-range rockets and short-range rockets, and even unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in civilian homes.
The US is also worried that Iran could intervene as Israel keeps up the attacks, sparking a massive regional war.
Meanwhile, UK defence secretary John Healey is said to have left Labour’s conference in Liverpool early to hold emergency talks.
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