A French helicopter carrier will arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in the next five to six days and take up position in case a decision is taken to evacuate foreign nationals from Lebanon, a French army spokesperson said on Tuesday.

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

Israel said intense fighting had erupted with the Hezbollah movement in south Lebanon after its paratroops and commandos launched raids there, at the start of a ground incursion that followed airstrikes against Hezbollah’s leadership.

France, which has about 20,000 citizens in Lebanon, sent its Dixmude helicopter carrier from the naval port of Toulon to the region on Monday, the French army spokesperson said.