Britain transferred 700 soldiers to Cyprus in preparation for an emergency evacuation of British citizens from Lebanon, after the Prime Minister called on those still in the country to leave immediately. The British government said that military teams are moving there to provide more support to British citizens in Lebanon, following the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, according to the Guardian newspaper. The government stated that the Royal Air Force has planes and helicopters on alert to provide support if necessary. It considered that this is the first stage of emergency plans for Lebanon, as the government seeks to avoid the chaos seen when British citizens were evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the government is "intensifying emergency plans" to rescue British citizens, calling on Israel and Lebanon to "step back from the brink." 'The most important message from me tonight is for British nationals in Lebanon to leave immediately and I just wan t to emphasise that,' Starmer said, speaking from a flight to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. 'It is important that we are very clear: now is the time to leave, and more broadly, I am concerned about the situation and I think we need to be clear that we need to de-escalate, we need to have a ceasefire, we need to step back from the brink.' The new troops add to a significant British military presence at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and Royal Navy ships RFA Mounts Bay and HMS Duncan. The Lebanese health ministry said at least 569 people had been killed and 1,645 wounded after a wave of Israeli air strikes left the country with its highest death toll in decades, adding that the dead included 50 children and 94 women. Source: National Iraqi News Agency