A French navy ship departed from southeastern France on Monday, heading toward the Lebanese coast as a precautionary measure to potentially evacuate French citizens. This as Israeli ground forces crossed into southern Lebanon on Tuesday to carry out "targeted raids" against Hezbollah positions.
The ship will take "5 to 6 days" to reach the area in the eastern Mediterranean from the port of Toulon, according to army officials.
The vessel is equipped with helicopters and an onboard battle group, ready to be deployed if an evacuation of French nationals becomes necessary.
"We are strengthening our resources to deal with a deterioration of the situation," a senior officer of the armed forces told French news agency AFP, adding that "there is no question of evacuation of nationals" at this stage.
Evacuating Lebanon?
Around 23,000 French and Franco-Lebanese residents live in Lebanon. The French embassy in Beirut has established a hotline and started coordinating evacuation options for civilians who wish to leave.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who was in Beirut on Monday said France was working in tandem with the Lebanese airline MEA for transport arrangements.
"We have initiated discussions with the Lebanese national airline to allow flights and places to be freed up for those of our nationals who wish to return to France," Barrot told public broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday.
Foreign minister visits Lebanon as second French citizen confirmed dead
Other countries such as Canada and Britain have begun preparations for evacuating their nationals while many airlines – including Air France and Lufthansa – have suspended flights to and from Beirut.
Barrot met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Sunday night and urged Israel to refrain from any land incursions.
He insisted on the "urgent need to act, to call for a ceasefire to prevent the region from burning".
France had already issued warnings to its nationals to leave Lebanon early August as tensions mounted in the region.
Hundreds of deaths have been reported - among them two French nationals - since the Israeli army stepped up its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In the past week, Israeli bombardments have killed more than 700 people, including 14 paramedics over a two-day period, Lebanon's health ministry said.
The United Nations on Tuesday launched an urgent appeal for $426 million (€383 million) to assist one million Lebanese people who have been displaced due to the airstrikes.
Military zone
The call came as Israel declared a military zone around its northern border with Lebanon and started ground raids into the country's south, backed by airstrikes and artillery.
Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike on Friday, vowed on Monday to continue the fight against Israel, saying it is ready for a ground operation.
The Israeli military said "intense fighting" was taking place Tuesday and warned Lebanese residents not to travel by vehicle in the region.
Meanwhile Hezbollah said it had targeted "a movement of Israeli soldiers in Metula with artillery shells", then a "gathering of enemy soldiers" in the same area with rockets.
Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, which triggered Israel's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday offered support to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for "dismantling attack infrastructure" along the border with Lebanon.
"We agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel's northern communities," he said.
Austin reiterated the position shared by the White House that a "diplomatic resolution is required" to ensure civilian safety "on both sides of the border."
(with newswires)
