Canada's full-scale evacuation of citizens from Lebanon is coming to an end as its last chartered ships are leaving the port of Beirut in two days' time.

But officials say individuals who still want to leave will be given assistance.

An estimated 11,500 Canadians have fled southern Lebanon since evacuations began. There are still about 40,000 Canadians in the country.

About 500 Canadians are expected to leave Lebanon Friday aboard two ships bound for the Cypriot port of Larnaca. On Thursday, more than 1,700 Canadians arrived at the harbor, the largest crowd since the first days of the evacuation, officials said.

Meanwhile, the country's Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said an unknown number of evacuees have been refused entry into Canada, because they posed a potential security risk.

Foreign countries have been rushing to evacuate their nationals from Lebanon after Israel responded to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants with a military offensive.

After more than two weeks of fighting, the confirmed death toll on the Lebanese side is at least 437. Fifty-two people have been killed in Israel.

At least eight Canadians have been killed in the military offensive, including one UN observer whose building was hit by an Israeli bomb on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua