Western nations weighing up Lebanon evacuation options

Western nations were on Sept 26 weighing their options on how to safely get nationals out of Lebanon if a full-scale war breaks out, diplomats said, with Cyprus and possibly Turkey seen as offering sanctuary to tens of thousands of people.

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Cyprus is the closest European Union member state, some 264km from Lebanon. It has been at the forefront of maritime aid efforts for Gaza and in the past was used to coordinate evacuations from Lebanon.

Cyprus processed around 60,000 people fleeing the Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006. A potential Israel ground invasion into southern Lebanon, with a response from Iran-backed Hezbollah of ballistic missiles and drones, could mean mass evacuations from both Lebanon and Israel.

"We have requests from a number of countries, not only from the European Union, but also from other third countries. We are ready to play this role in case of a need," Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides told Reuters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We did it back in 2006, and we are ready to do it again," Mr Christodoulides said. "It is difficult, but also it is our moral responsibility."

Several countries, including the US, France, Britain and Germany, have thousands of nationals living or travelling through Lebanon. All have worked in recent months to prepare plans with Cyprus in case of a full-scale war.