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.
This story is from the August 05, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 05, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
It's the unmade Rocky film with a twist... roll up, folks
There is no hate, no love, the gloves are big and the rounds will be short when Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight on Friday night.
While rivals hit the buffers, Liverpool deserve their lead
Alexis Mac Allister can have a footballing eloquence. His job involves reading the game.
United's ship steadied, now Amorim hits deeper waters
It may be the way all Manchester United managers imagine their reign ending.
Supermarket shoppers will soon find ‘every little hurts'
Is chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to hike employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) about to hit us all – and right in the supermarket baskets?
Barclays warns tax rise will hit workers' living standards
Business leaders accuse government of betraying the nation’
How Gary Barlow became accidental king of memes
The singer is currently enjoying a load of nice days out’ on his new travel show. It’s the latest step in his reinvention as an inadvertent icon of hun culture’, says Katie Rosseinsky
Brothers grim: on the dark world of Nineties boybands
As anew documentary series reveals what it was really like to ride the pop train to stardom, Jessie Thompson remembers her own youthful obsession and looks behind the curtain
Cast iron catnip for Gen Z's aspirations of adulthood
Police had to be called after hundreds of frenzied shoppers descended on a cookware sale this weekend. Helen Coffey dons oven gloves to tackle the LeCreuSlay phenomenon
'Some boys wet themselves, some wanted their mothers'
Reckless exposure to atomic weapons tests left young men and later, their children suffering from debilitating illness and disability. Zoé Beaty reports on the long fight for justice
Why India's trainee doctors are hoping for more bodies
Logistical hurdles and cultural sensitivities are affecting the donation of cadavers, so medical students are forced to train on anatomical models or simulations, reports Namita Singh
