US, UK send troops to Cyprus in response to Lebanon crisis: What we know

The United States and United Kingdom have sent troops to Cyprus as they call on their citizens to leave Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

“Around 700 UK troops will move to Cyprus in the coming hours, as the government continues to prepare its contingency plans following significant escalation between Israel and Lebanon in recent days,” the British government said in a release on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Britons to “leave immediately” on Tuesday, saying Lebanon is on the “brink” of all-out war, the BBC reported.

An additional 60 US troops have been deployed to Cyprus in response to the tensions, two US officials confirmed to Al-Monitor's Jared Szuba. 

The situation in Lebanon escalated after Israel detonated communication devices used by Hezbollah last week. The Israeli military then conducted heavy strikes targeting Hezbollah throughout Lebanon on Monday and Tuesday, killing at least 569.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a ballistic missile toward the Tel Aviv area on Wednesday, targeting the Mossad headquarters. Israel carried out more airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday.

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel that launched the Gaza war. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged nearly nonstop blows since then.

Why it matters: Western countries have been calling on their citizens to depart Lebanon for weeks, with more pleas coming in the last few days. France’s embassy in Beirut sent an email to French citizens in Lebanon on Wednesday, saying there are no plans for an evacuation at present, but adding that “the situation remains uncertain and subject to rapid change” and citizens should be “extra careful and vigilant.”

The embassy said it created a 24-hour hotline on Monday to respond to the needs of French nationals in the country.

The US Embassy called on Americans to leave Lebanon by commercial means on Tuesday.

”We urge those who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route,” said the embassy.

Most airlines have canceled flights to Beirut, though Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines continues to operate.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Brits in Lebanon to “leave now” in August, with the United States, France and Italy making similar pleas the same month.

US Defense Department spokesperson Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters on Monday that the Pentagon was sending “a small number of additional US military personnel” to the Middle East “to augment forces that are already in the region.”

Ryder declined to say what type of military personnel were being deployed, their number or where they were headed, citing “operational security reasons.”

The number of additional forces amount to roughly 60 personnel, a US official told Al-Monitor, but their role remains unclear.

The United States already has the following military assets in the region: the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, which includes several destroyers; the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which consists of multiple ships carrying some 3,000 Marines and sailors that can rapidly deploy from the sea or air to land; the USS Georgia guided-missile submarine; and several US fighter jet squadrons.

During the 2006 Lebanon war, the United States evacuated around 15,000 Americans to Cyprus by helicopter and boat. A 2007 report from the US Government Accountability Office concluded that the operation was a “significant accomplishment,” but added that “miscommunications” between the State and Defense departments resulted in delays during the process, among other issues.

Know more: A number of Lebanese have fled into neighboring Syria due to the conflict. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that an unspecified number of Lebanese crossed into Syria since Monday.

Syrian Health Minister Ahmad Damiriyah said on Wednesday that health facilities near the border are ready to treat arrivals from Lebanon, the official SANA news outlet reported.

Al-Monitor’s Beatrice Farhat and Jared Szuba contributed to this report.