UK government offers charter flights from Lebanon for UK nationals | political news

The British government has chartered commercial flights from Lebanon for Britons wishing to leave the country amid escalating violence.

The flight is scheduled to take off from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday and priority will be given to vulnerable British nationals, their spouses, partners and children under 18, the Foreign Office said.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the situation in Lebanon was “unstable and likely to deteriorate rapidly” and that “the safety of Lebanese citizens continues to be our top priority.”

He added: “This is why the UK Government is arranging charter flights to help people who want to leave. It is important to do so now as further evacuation may not be guaranteed.”

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While the government will pay for the charter flights, those wanting to fly are expected to pay a fee of £350 per seat.

Commercial flights remain operational and the Foreign Office said it had been working with partners to increase capacity to allow British nationals to leave.

Image: Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday. Photo: AP

There are fears of increased violence in the Middle East after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last weekend.

Iran-backed militant groups have said they are ready to fight if Israel launches a ground offensive, raising fears that the escalation of hostilities could lead to a full-blown regional war.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Lammy said the government had set up a rapid response force to help around 5,000 British citizens stationed in Lebanon, while 700 troops were stationed in Cyprus and seats on commercial flights had been booked to take them home.

The foreign minister urged those seeking to flee to immediately avail this help, saying the government may not be able to protect them if the conflict intensifies.

Asked what he would say to British people who have not yet taken his advice, he said: “I urge them to leave because the situation on the ground is changing rapidly.”

“We will do everything we can to protect the British people and we have plans in place to do so, but we cannot anticipate the pace at which we will be able to do so if the situation escalates significantly over the coming hours and days.”

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It emerged today that Israeli special forces are carrying out search operations inside Lebanon ahead of a potential ground attack.

There were reports of heavy shelling in southern Lebanon border towns on Monday night after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that “the next phase of the war against Hezbollah will begin soon.”

Mr Lammy said he spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday evening and both were concerned about the situation and were calling for a de-escalation of tensions.

Read more: Is a wider war in the Middle East now inevitable? Iran appears to have miscalculated the risks Israel was willing to take.

Image: David Lammy has urged British citizens in Lebanon to seek help immediately. Photo: PA

Asked whether Israel could send military aid if it were attacked by Iran, Prime Minister Rami said he met Iran's foreign minister last week and “I urged Iran to exercise restraint.”

“As you can imagine over the next few hours, we will continue to be in contact with Iran,” he added.

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Asked whether he agreed with U.S. President Joe Biden's opinion that the killing of Hassan Nasrallah was a “measure of justice,” Prime Minister Lammy said, “I do not mourn the death of the leader of a banned terrorist organization, but I mourn the civilians.” “These are the people who lost their lives in the bloodshed of the past few days.”

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