UK prepares to evacuate civilians from Lebanon as Middle East conflict widens

A man walks past a billboard with portraits of assassinated leaders Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani (center) and Hezbollah’s top commander Fuad Shukr on the road to Beirut airport on August 3.

The UK has stepped up preparations for a possible evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon, following last week’s assassinations in Beirut and Tehran – killings blamed on Israel that threaten to turn the war in Gaza into a regional conflict.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Saturday that consular experts, Border Force officials and military personnel had been deployed to the region as part of planning for “a range of possible conflict scenarios”.

The landing ship RFA Cardigan Bay and HMS Duncan are already in the eastern Mediterranean, and the air force is putting transport helicopters on standby, the statement said.

The UK does not expect an imminent need to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon, the spokesperson said. Observer He understands, but the decision to put forces on standby comes after a meeting on Friday between Defence Secretary John Healey and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, during a visit to the region by Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

On Saturday, the government also reiterated its call for British nationals in Lebanon to leave the country while “commercial options are still available,” joining the United States and several other countries. Dozens of airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon and Israel in the past week.

“I don’t feel anxious, but I don’t really know what to do. What is the best option? Should I stay or should I leave and try to start something new somewhere else?” said Bruna Hassan al-Safawi, a 23-year-old Lebanese-Brazilian.

Safawi’s home is not far from Beirut airport: as the country is surrounded by Syrian and Israeli territory, it is effectively the only way in and out of the country for most people.

“If I see planes landing again, it’s okay, I’m safe. If I don’t see planes anymore, I’ll start packing my bags,” she said.

In Haifa, Israel’s northernmost city, bars and restaurants that are usually packed on a summer evening were nearly empty Friday. “I try not to think about it and do things normally, otherwise I’ll go crazy from worrying,” said Layla al-Nasser, a 26-year-old resident.

Fears that the war in Gaza is about to escalate into a conflict that could consume much of the Middle East grew over the weekend after comments from Iran on Saturday, in which the Islamic Republic said it expected its ally in Lebanon, the powerful Shiite militia Hezbollah, to begin striking deeper inside Israel, and not just hitting military targets.

Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in reciprocal attacks since the Lebanese militia began firing on Israel the day after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, ostensibly to aid its Palestinian allies. Alongside the fighting in Gaza, the conflict over the Blue Line separating the two countries has escalated over the past decade, with tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes on both sides.

Tensions reached unprecedented levels this week following the back-to-back assassinations of Hezbollah’s number two Fuad Shukur and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Israel claimed responsibility for Shukur’s death, a missile strike on a Beirut apartment building Tuesday night that also killed four others and wounded about 70. Israel said it was responsible for a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights last weekend that killed 12 children and youths playing soccer. Hezbollah denied carrying out the attack.

People eat at a restaurant in downtown Beirut on August 2. Photography: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

Hours later, Shukur’s assassination was overshadowed by news that Haniyeh had been assassinated while visiting Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Conflicting reports emerged about the circumstances of the assassination: On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a statement saying the Qatar-based official had been killed by a short-range projectile with a warhead weighing about 7 kilograms.

Both Hezbollah and Iran have vowed revenge for the killings. The Revolutionary Guards said Tehran’s retaliation would be “severe” and “at the appropriate time, place and manner,” blaming Israel for Haniyeh’s death. Israel has not commented on the Hamas leader’s death, but has carried out targeted assassinations on Iranian soil in the past.

In a speech at Shukur’s funeral on Thursday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah for the first time disassociated the Lebanese front from Gaza, saying that “the problem has gone beyond the support front” and that the conflict with Israel had “entered a new phase.”

The United States, Israel’s main ally, announced Friday that it would deploy additional warships and fighter jets to the region to “protect American personnel and defend Israel” as the Iran-aligned “axis of resistance” prepared its response to Haniyeh’s killing.

The fighting in the Gaza Strip has also involved armed groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, which have fired drones and missiles at Israel and U.S. facilities in the region. Tehran directly attacked Israel for the first time in April, after a strike it blamed on Israel killed several senior Revolutionary Guards officers at the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Masked boys hold toy machine guns during a protest to condemn the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon on July 31. Photograph: Mohammed Zaatari/AP

The deluge of 300 missiles and drones was carefully announced in advance, allowing Israel’s allies to mount an effective air defense response. This time, Iran is expected to take a stronger line, perhaps in the form of a joint attack.

US President Joe Biden, who has worked hard in recent months for a ceasefire in Gaza, said the killing was “not helpful” in comments late Thursday.

Meanwhile, fighting continues in Gaza, where health officials in the Hamas-controlled area said Saturday that the conflict had already claimed nearly 40,000 lives. The U.N. said this week that nearly 40,000 cases of hepatitis A had been confirmed in the besieged Palestinian enclave and that health conditions “continue to deteriorate.”

Five people were killed Saturday in an Israeli drone strike in the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory. Israel said it targeted a group of militants in the city of Tulkarem who were planning an attack on Israelis.

The conflict erupted after a Hamas attack on October 7, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 others taken hostage. An initial ceasefire in November collapsed after a week, and protracted negotiations aimed at reaching a truce and an agreement on the release of the hostages have so far proved fruitless.