British nationals have been urged to leave Lebanon after the UK Government said it is continuing to secure extra seats on commercial flights.
Strikes in Lebanon by Israel have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and many of its top command.
The militant group responding by saying it is ready to fight should Israel launch a ground offensive, with fears mounting that the escalating hostilities between the two sides could result in a full-scale regional war.
There are an estimated 5,000 British citizens in Lebanon and the Government says it is working on “all contingency options”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sir Keir Starmer has been “very, very clear” that British nationals “should leave now, particularly whilst commercial flights are still available”.
The spokesman told reporters: “We’re doing everything we can to work with commercial airlines to maximise capacity because we want people to leave, and I understand that there have been extra Middle East Airlines flights leaving Lebanon over the weekend, another scheduled for Tuesday and we have secured seats for British nationals on those flights.”
He added: “What we’re focused on at the moment is securing extra spaces on commercial flights for those who do want to leave and reiterating our calls for those to leave and to register their presence with us and book the first available flights.
“We’re also working to send a rapid deployment team to bolster the efforts of our embassy in supporting British nationals who want to leave.”
Asked why an evacuation of UK nationals has not started, the spokesman said: “We’ve been clear whilst there are commercial flights available, British nationals can and, indeed, should leave.”
The spokesman also pointed to the deployment of 700 troops, alongside Border Force and Foreign Office officials, to Cyprus to continue work on “all contingency options and plan for a range of scenarios in the region”.
He also said arms export licences are held under “constant review” when responding to questions about the UK’s arms sales to Israel amid a potential escalation of the country’s attacks on Lebanon.
Asked if the UK would provide aid to Israel as was the case after they were attacked by Iran, the spokesman said: “Clearly we stood with Israel previously.
“We do repeatedly say that Israel has the right to defend itself, but our focus now is on a ceasefire, and we call on all sides to show restraint, to step back from the brink and avoid any further escalation.”
