As a small contingent of Canada's military helps stranded Canadian citizens escape southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he would prefer not to send troops to the region to enforce peace between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Canada's first choice would obviously not be to have Canadians or foreign troops trying to, trying to enforce this kind of regime in the region," Harper said Tuesday at a news conference in Cambridge, Ont..

Harper said that ultimately, Middle Eastern countries could better enforce any future ceasefire.

The U.S. and Britain have also ruled out deploying troops to Lebanon at this time.

Retired Col. Michel Drapeau, now a military analyst, said it was far too dangerous to deploy peacekeeping troops to the area where hundreds have died in the past two weeks.

"You have absolutely no control over all of the belligerents," he told CTV.

However, three Canadian naval vessels remain on 48-hour notice for  deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. Drapeau thought Canada could play a role there.

"You could effectively open a sort of naval blockade and effectively preventy any movmement across the shore or in the immediate waters in the vicinity of Lebanon," he said.

Evacuation efforts

The prime minister also said evacuation efforts from Lebanon will begin to wrap up in the coming days, and that Canada will likely end up removing 10,000 of its citizens from the war-ravaged country.

Addressing concerns by some politicians and Lebanese evacuees that long-standing Lebanese residents with Canadian citizenship were taking advantage of Canadian evacuation efforts, Harper said Ottawa would take a closer look at the rights and responsibilities of dual Canadian citizens.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces pounded the ancient city of Tyre forces Tuesday, where Canadian troops helped about a dozen Canadian citizens escape from the city and onto a European rescue ship anchored offshore on Monday. 

Thousands of Canadians are still trying to get out of the dangerous southern part of the country.

A ship chartered by Ottawa is preparing to evacuate them from the southern Lebanese port on Wednesday.

The commanding officer of Joint Task Force Lebanon told CTV on Tuesday that Canadian troops arrived on July 19, and they will play a "big role" in assisting the Department of Foreign Affairs in the risky evacuation mission.

"We've got approximately 150 of our personnel on the ground and we're focusing our efforts on trying to get Canadians safely out of Lebanon," said Lt.-Col. Shane Brennan in Beirut.

Brennan refused to discuss any aspects of his team's operations, "but what I can tell you is we're doing everything in our power to ensure that Canadians are safely evacuated out of this area -- and our role is to provide that assistance to help the Government of Canada," he said.

Brennan added that Canadian forces are in "direct liaison" with Israeli Defence Forces on the evacuation strategy.

"We're doing that both with sophisticated communication methods we have here, and we also have naval liaison officers that are in direct contact with the Israeli navy that's involved with the blockade in this area."

The Canadian troops are armed and have authorization to shoot back if attacked. On the ship will be army medics and military police, who will help check bags and documents.

About 1,050 Canadians were efficiently evacuated on Tuesday, bringing the total to about 8,700. They sailed on three ships to Mersin, Turkey and will be flown to Montreal.

 The Foreign Affairs staffers are handling paperwork issues while the military is handling ship-loading, communications and other organizational tasks.

Ship in Tyre on Wednesday

Meanwhile, Canadian officials are asking citizens who want to leave from Tyre -- the most dangerous hotspot in south Lebanon -- to go directly to arrive at city's port with their travel documents by 9:00 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday.

As in Beirut, they do not need to await a call from the embassy.

Canadian Ambassador Louis de Lorimier described the rescue mission as "extremely dangerous," and would not say what arrangements were made with Israeli or Hezbollah forces to ensure the safe passage of Canadians.

United Nations forces in the region are expected to help organize and provide security for the evacuation.

An estimated 40,000 Canadians live in Lebanon. So far, about 7,500 have left the country on government-chartered ships.

"We will be evacuating people all week," Canadian Ambassador Louis de Lorimier said.

"Demand is less. No doubt some people have left on their own. Some people have probably decided on their own to stay."

CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer, reporting from Beirut, said the hard part for those wishing to leave will be getting to the ports at Beirut and Tyre.

"This is still an extremely dangerous area. It is so difficult for people to even get to the port," she told CTV.

Despite help from Canadian soldiers at the ports, many people are "going to have to make their way on their own.

"They're cramming into cars. We've seen it on roads over the past couple of days that we've spent down in the south. As well, taxis are going to be jammed, but people really have been reluctant to travel in trucks or pickup trucks or minivans because the Israeli government says, look, these are the vehicles that Hezbollah has been using to transport weapons. And they will be targeted," said Mackey Frayer.

While Canadian military officials said they were in contact with Israeli forces, when asked if they'd been in contact with Hezbollah, Mackey Frayer said she was told to ask Ottawa.

With files from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer, Robert Fife and from The Canadian Press