European countries urge nationals to leave Lebanon

European governments are urging their citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately due to escalating hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, which show no signs of easing.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told British citizens not to wait for a contingency plan to be implemented but to evacuate immediately.

“The time to leave is now,” he emphasised. “There are still commercial flights. It’s very important that they hear my message, which is to leave and to leave immediately.”

Roughly 700 UK troops will be mobilised to Cyprus as part of the government’s contingency plans, the British foreign ministry and defence offices said in a press release issued on Wednesday.

Military teams will be supported by border forces and officials, the government said.

France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs issued its own travel warning on Tuesday, advising nationals to leave Lebanon as soon as possible due to Israel’s ongoing military campaign while also urging those who choose to remain to exercise caution.

Travel to Lebanon is not recommended, the department says.

Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs echoed this warning, advising against travel, particularly to the southern region of the Litani River and the Bekaa Valley.

The department advised all nationals to consider leaving the country by their own means, using the commercial flights that are still available.

While Spain’s Foreign Ministry has no plans to evacuate Spanish nationals, the military has been deployed, and Spanish citizens are advised to leave the country.

The Spanish government has formulated an evacuation plan for 1,000 Spaniards in Lebanon that will be implemented as needed, although the plan’s details have not been disclosed.

Israeli strikes targeting members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have killed at least 575 people in the country’s south since Monday. Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel since Hamas’ 7 October attack.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said leaders will discuss the ongoing evacuation efforts at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday night in New York.

Stano added that if there is a need for coordinated evacuation, the EU is ready to act.

“Whenever there is a need for EU-wide coordination, our delegation on the ground and the EEAS (European External Action Service) headquarters, are always there for member states,” he told reporters at the midday briefing.