The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Saturday said Britons should use any commercial options still working, acknowledging potential exit routes were already limited or closed. It added that the Border Force, consular officials and military personnel had been deployed to support embassy staff there.
Foreign secretary David Lammy warned that “tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly”.
The US embassy in Beirut urged its nationals to “book any ticket available” out of Lebanon, noting that several flights had already been cancelled and that military evacuations were rare.
The Pentagon had already announced that the US would move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region in preparation for any escalation. Jordan also issued an emergency directive telling its citizens to leave “as soon as possible’“.
The Canadian government followed with a statement saying “now is the time to leave”. France on Sunday invited its citizens to leave Lebanon and advised against travelling to the country due to the risk of military escalation.
Earlier last week, Italy and Germany urged its citizens to depart the Lebanese territory.
There are concerns about a full-blown regional war after Iran vowed vengeance following the assassinations of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and Fuad Shukr, a senior commander in the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Beirut on Tuesday.
Denne historien er fra August 05, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Denne historien er fra August 05, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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Carse justifies England faith as the archetypal bold pick
If you won a boxing match after your opponent continually punched themselves in the face, how much credit can you take?
Tenacious Diallo the key to Amorim pressing machine
Old Trafford has not seen anything like this before.
Gold King Cole packs the Bridge with merry old souls
In the 83rd minute, the ball rolled to the feet of Cole Palmer in a bubble of space outside Aston Villa's box, and the crowd snapped to attention.
Vibrant Anfield marks the changing of the Guardiola
There was a lull in the noise, a break in the Anfield atmosphere, when a defiant chant emerged from a corner near Stefan Ortega’s goal.
What is so daunting about Spain's new data checks?
Q You have written about the new “red tape” for visitors to Spain. So, as well as your usual passport details you will give a contact number, address and email. Not exactly the Spanish Inquisition, is it?
Sectarian clashes claim at least 130 lives in Pakistan
At least 130 people were killed in deadly sectarian clashes in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire, days after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying Shia Muslims, local officials said.
Coalition government likely in Ireland as count proceeds
Fianna Fail say decisions on power-sharing for another day’
How Syria's forgotten war is back on the world's agenda
Many believed the country was lost in an unsolvable conflict, until everything changed in a matter of days, writes Bel Trew
Assad regime scrambles to halt Syrian rebels’ advance
Civilians reportedly killed by Russian and Syrian airstrikes
Mother of poisoning victim says she knew she would die
Lawyer Simone White succumbed to the effects of methanol while backpacking in Laos with two of her childhood friends
