GOLDEN ARMADA
Desperate Brits fleeing wartorn Lebanon in ‘Goldeneye’ SUPERYACHTS ferrying evacuees to Aiya Napa for £2,500 each
Defence Secretary John Healey crack British troops were ready to evacuate British nationals from Lebanon if necessary
DESPERATE Brits are paying up to £2,500 to flee Lebanon on yachts amid Hezbollah and Israel's bloody showdown.
Thousands of civilians have escaped the war-torn hotbed by air and sea as Israel continues to pound the south with daily strikes.
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The first plane evacuating around 180 Brits left Beirut yesterday as the Middle East teeters on the brink of all-out war.
But terrified civilians are now turning to a more unusual escape route as flights out of Lebanon quickly fill up.
Dozens of people a day are now being evacuated from Dbaye region to Ayia Napa in Cyprus - on private superyachts.
Goldeneye Superyachts owner Karl Debs has earmarked several of his yachts to ferry people to safety as Israel's bombardment shows no sign of slowing down.
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Up to seven yachts are being sent daily, each carrying around seven passengers.
Passengers need a valid passport and papers to enter Cyprus.
Frantic civilians having been forking out between £1,500 and £2,500 travel on the 75ft long yachts.
Yacht broker and captain Karl said: "Clients feel more comfortable on these private yachts rather than ferries."
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So far, 450 people have taken the seven-hour trip from Dbaye to Ayia Napa, including several Brits, Karl told the .
One mum said she made the decision to flee on a yacht for the sake of her children.
Eight Israeli soldiers are killed in gun battle after being ambushed trying to push terrorists further north into Lebanon
She told The National News: "We were already planning on leaving, but we were hoping things wouldn't escalate as much.
"We were waiting day by day to see what's going to happen next.
"But when that big one hit, and when I saw my kids tremble the way they did and panic, I was like that's it."
Foreign Secretary David Lammy yesterday confirmed the first charter flight taking British nationals out of Lebanon had departed from Beirut.
He urged British nationals still in Lebanon to register with the Foreign Office and leave the country immediately.
But it is feared flights from the Rafic Hariri international airport may be halted by this weekend.
Defence Secretary John Healey crack British troops were ready to evacuate British nationals from Lebanon if necessary, however.
He said an extra 700 personnel, including soldiers, sailors and aviators, were on standby in the region.
Healey said: “They are ready to go if needed. I have got great confidence in our ability to do the job if required, but for now our govt advice to all Brits in Lebanon is to get out now."
Asked if Israel’s invasion of Lebanon would see Beirut airport close, he said: “I have made very clear to the Israelis, and I know from having spoken to my US counterpart they are saying the same thing, it is vital that we as nations are able to get our nationals out of Lebanon safely.
“Israel understand that well and we will continue to make that case.”
He added: “Of course the way of avoiding this best is to see a ceasefire in Lebanon and a negotiated settlement along the lines of the UN plan that is on the table now.”
It comes after it was confirmed a US citizen has been killed in Lebanon.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad is among more than 1,000 civilians who have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the past two weeks.
Israel this week staged a ground invasion of Lebanon as the battle with Hezbollah heats up.
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The focus of the operation is clearing out Hezbollah terror sites to halt rocket attacks which have driven 60,000 from homes in Northern Israel in the last 11 months, Israeli sources said.
But yesterday, fierce fighting erupted and at least eight Israel Defence Forces soldiers were killed.
Commandos are believed to have been ambushed as they attempted to clear a village infested with dug-in militia.
The blow was the first serious setback for Israeli forces attempting to push the terror group’s elite Radwan Forces north to create a weapons-free buffer zone.
Fighting has intensified in southern Lebanon after Israel poured in thousands more soldiers towards the war zone on Wednesday.
Last night, Hezbollah claimed to have blasted three Israeli tanks with missiles as they advanced towards a Lebanese border village.
The Iran-backed terror group said it “destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced towards the village of Maroun al-Ras.”
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon.
“May God avenge them, and may their memories be a blessing.
“We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us.
“This will not happen because we will stand together, and with God’s help - we will win together.”
Israel has insisted the operation will be "limited and targeted raids" to demolish Hezbollah's war machine near the border.
But there are fears escalations could drag the wider Middle East region into an all-out war.
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Hezbollah's propaganda chief Mohammad Afif has warned its forces were "only in the first round" of a bloodbath battle.
Israel is now plotting a huge retaliation to Tuesday night's unprecedented Iranian missile blitz.
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