What are foreign embassies in Beirut doing to assist nationals amid Israel's invasion?

Several countries have initiated measures to evacuate their nationals from Lebanon after Israel announced it was moving forward with a ground invasion on Monday.

The latest series of measures comes as only a few remaining commercial airlines are still operating flights to Beirut - and those that were were already fully booked for the next few days.

Cyprus has agreements with around a dozen countries to act as a temporary host for their evacuated nationals before their repatriation.

The foreign minister of Cyprus said evacuations of third-country nationals from Lebanon to the east Mediterranean island nation were "slow and controlled so far".

The New Arab has put together some of the measures announced by foreign embassies in Beirut.

United Kingdom 

The UK government has arranged a chartered commercial flight to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon.

The flight is scheduled to depart on Wednesday from Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport.

"It is essential that you leave now, as a later evacuation may not be guaranteed," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

Vulnerable British nationals would be given priority on the flight, the statement added.

Last week the UK announced it was deploying 700 soldiers to Cyprus in preparation for potential evacuation of its citizens in Lebanon.

France

France has deployed a navy vessel to station off the coast of Lebanon as a precautionary measure if an evacuation order is given.

The French amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA), expected to take five to six days to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean from the port of Toulon is equipped with helicopters that can be mobilised to evacuate French nationals.

Germany

On Monday, Germany evacuated non-essential staff from its embassy in Beirut, along with their dependents and some citizens with medical conditions.

Approximately 110 passengers boarded a German Air Force A321, which arrived in Berlin later that evening.

Despite the evacuation, the Beirut embassy remains operational to assist the estimated 1,800 German citizens in Lebanon with their departure through commercial flights and other available options, according to the government.

"We are currently in a phase where we support the departure of citizens, but we are explicitly not in an evacuation scenario," a government spokesperson said on Monday.

The USA

The US embassy in Beirut announced on X on Monday that it was working with airlines to accommodate the departure requests of US nationals seeking to leave Lebanon.

Canada

Canada said on Monday it had reserved 800 seats on commercial flights to evacuate its nationals from Lebanon. There are about 45,000 Canadian nationals in Lebanon.

The Canadian military also set up emergency resources in Cyprus if commercial flights are interrupted.

Turkey

Turkey said it was ready to carry out a possible evacuation of Turks from Lebanon via air and sea, and was working with around 20 countries on preparing its ports and airports for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Turkey.

A diplomatic source said that some 14,000 Turkish citizens were registered at the Turkish consulate in Lebanon, though that number was not definitive. Some states "with fewer resources" were asking to join Turkish evacuation operations.

"If an evacuation decision is made, the priority will be our own citizens," the source said.

"Our military cargo planes and ships that will be used in a possible evacuation are waiting ready for duty."

Japan

Japan has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon on commercial flights and said on Friday it was preparing military flights for their possible return.

C-2 military transport planes have been ordered to go to Jordan and Greece to be on standby in case Japanese nationals need to be transported out of the region.

Japanese media said there were around 50 Japanese citizens currently in Lebanon.

Philippines

The Philippines said last week it would evacuate 11,000 citizens from Lebanon the moment Israeli forces crossed the border to launch a ground offensive.

"A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation," Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said on Friday, adding the plan was to move thousands out of the country via the sea. He did not provide details.

Manila had earlier urged Filipinos to leave Lebanon before commercial airlines stopped flying to Beirut. Some 30,000 Filipinos are in Lebanon - 90 percent of which are female domestic workers.

Visa-free travel

Lebanon's General Security announced on Monday that Lebanese citizens can now travel to Iraq using only their ID cards. Other countries that already allow visa-free entry to Lebanese nationals include Turkey, Jordan, Iran, and Syria.

Refugees

The United Nations Refugee Agency said on Monday around 100,000 people had fled to Syria from Lebanon due to Israeli attacks.

The UNHCR representative in Syria said most evacuees were women and children. Around 80 percent were Syrian nationals and 20 percent Lebanese.

Some 210,000 Palestinian refugees live in camps and informal settlements in Lebanon, according to the UN children's agency UNICEF.