U.S. Mulls Evacuating Citizens from Lebanon

July 15, 2006 — -- According to the State Department, about 25,000 Americans live in Lebanon, and with the Israelis striking the airport, sea ports and the lone major border crossing, getting them out of Lebanon would not be easy.

"It would be large task over several days to get that many people out of a city that's being torn apart by bombs and all kinds of unstable conditions," said Greg Bujac, a former State Department security official.

Pentagon officials tell ABC News they are in "active planning" for an evacuation, but no orders have been given to move troops, ships or helicopters. It's up to the State Department to make the call to order an evacuation.

ABC News met a group of college kids who have been trying to leave for days.

"You can't really talk to the embassy if you're in Lebanon," one woman said. "We can't get in contact with anybody there."

Today, the group's summer program at least took them out of the city -- where they hope they'll be safer.

But no place is truly safe in Lebanon. Israel has made it clear that no target off limits. Tonight, Israel attacked the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli -- the farthest they have struck so far into Lebanon.

Earlier, Israeli war planes hit central Beirut and destroyed strongholds of the militia group Hezbollah -- killing at least 33 civilians.

The attacks came in response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers.

Hezbollah, which holds seats in the Lebanese parliament, is supported by both Iran and Syria and has declared that it is ready for open war with Israel.

At the same time, Israel also is fighting in Gaza, where members of the militant wing of Hamas, the governing party in the Palestinian territories, are blamed for kidnapping one of the Israeli soldiers.

So far, at least 15 Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting.

President Bush urged Hezbollah "to lay down its arms and to stop attacking."

The Pentagon has been planning for a possible evacuation for days. U.S. troops are nearby. Three Navy warships led by the U.S.S. Iwo Jima are in the Red Sea, supporting 2,200 marines participating in an exercise in Jordan.