However, minister Mohamad Hasan said evacuation plans have been prepared, if the need arose for them to leave, Sinar Harian reported.

“Not many of our citizens reside in Lebanon. The majority are the Malbatt 850-11 troops,” he said during a press conference at Wisma Putra in Putrajaya today.

Mohamad, who is known as Tok Mat, said Wisma Putra was monitoring developments in Gaza and its surrounding areas.

He said the Malbatt troops were currently safe.

“We communicate daily to stay updated on the latest developments. There is no need yet to bring back the troops from Lebanon,” he said.

Mohamad added that any troop withdrawal would be conducted by the UN.

“For now, there is no need as the situation is still under control.”

Yesterday, Wisma Putra urged Malaysians in the Middle East to register with the nearest Malaysian Embassy as soon as possible.

The Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that several countries were urging their citizens to leave Lebanon amid growing concerns over the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Countries taking such steps include Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany, Canada, the US, Ireland, Jordan and the UK.

On Saturday, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Beirut urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the area immediately and emphasised the need to stay in contact with the embassy in case of any emergency.

This warning came after Kuwait urged its citizens on June 22 to avoid travelling to Lebanon and those in the country to leave as soon as possible given the security situation in the region.