UK government tells Britons in Lebanon to 'leave now'

Officials said they are 'working to increase capacity' and find seats for citizens on flights out

Passengers checking departures at Beirut International airport. The UK government has told British citizens in Lebanon to 'leave now'. AFP

The UK Foreign Office has told British citizens still in Lebanon to “leave now”, following a series of explosions that destroyed several apartment buildings in Beirut amid escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah.

A statement released by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was “working to increase capacity” and find seats for British nationals on flights out of the country, adding that they “should take the next available flight”.

On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, hours after Israel announced it had killed him in an air strike in Beirut on Friday. More than 720 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict escalated on Monday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

On Saturday, the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued conflict zone information bulletins (CZIBs), recommending airlines not to operate within the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel “at all flight levels”.

“The recommendation is valid until October 31, 2024, and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment,” EASA said, adding it “will continue to closely monitor the situation”.

Meanwhile, Ettie Higgins, Unicef's deputy representative in Lebanon, said “thousands and thousands” of people had fled southern Beirut, and hospitals were “overwhelmed”.

“There was already a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon given that it's been hosting over one million refugees from Syria for over a decade, so it's rapidly escalating into a catastrophe,” she told the BBC.

If spaces on commercial airlines for British nationals looking to leave Lebanon run out, evacuations by air and sea using British forces based in Cyprus could be the response if security deteriorates. Around 5,000 British citizens are estimated to be in Lebanon.

Risk of escalation

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said on Friday that air strikes and exchanges of rocket fire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah present a “risk that this escalates into something that is much wider and much more serious”. He added that his “first concern remains the safety of British nationals in Lebanon”.

“The travel advice remains the same – don't go to Lebanon,” Mr Healy said. “If you are in Lebanon, then get out and there are still commercial flights leaving so people can do that.”

When asked about the possibility of a ground invasion of Lebanon by Israeli forces, Mr Healy said the UK government was “watching this really carefully”, adding that “at the moment, it's air strikes. At the moment, there are missiles from the Lebanese Hezbollah directed at Israel. This conflict serves no one.”

Addressing the United Nations earlier this week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for a ceasefire. “Stop the violence. Step back from the brink,” he said. “We need to see an immediate ceasefire to provide space for a diplomatic settlement and we are working with all partners to that end.”