The British government announced today that it has chartered more planes to take British citizens and their families out of Lebanon, after a first flight transported around 150 people from Beirut to the UK on Wednesday.
The Foreign Office revealed in a statement that it had “chartered a limited number of flights from Lebanon to help British nationals leave the country due to the deteriorating security situation”.
The measure was taken to meet demand for the flight organized on Wednesday, which exceeded the capacity offered.
As well as British nationals, dependent or close family members can travel.
The British Executive has also been seeking to secure seats on commercial flights that continue to operate from Beirut airport, despite Israeli bombing in Lebanon.
“Recent events have demonstrated the volatility of the situation in Lebanon,” said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who reiterated his call for British citizens in the country to ‘leave the country immediately’.
Israel began a ground offensive in Lebanon after 10 days of aerial bombardments that left almost 2,000 dead in the south and east of Lebanon and in the southern suburbs of Beirut to attack the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and responsible for launching rockets against Israeli territory.
The conflict in the Middle East region deteriorated after the October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli territory, which left more than 1,200 dead, most of them civilians, and around 250 hostages.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has already left thousands dead and wounded.
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