The British Foreign Office is urging British citizens to leave Lebanon immediately amid hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
In a statement issued last night, it said: “British citizens in Lebanon should leave now” and added: “You should take the next available flight.”
“We are working to increase capacity and secure places for British citizens to leave.”
British citizens should register their presence on the ministry’s website to stay up to date with the latest developments.
The announcement follows yesterday’s statement by British Defense Secretary John Healey that airstrikes and rocket fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah pose “the risk of this developing into something much wider and much more serious”.
Healey also noted that “their first concern remains the safety of British citizens in Lebanon” and added that “the travel advice remains the same – do not go to Lebanon. If you were in Lebanon, then leave and there are still commercial flights leaving so people can do that.”
Around 5,000 British citizens are in Lebanon, where, according to the UN, more than 90,000 Lebanese have been displaced in recent days.