London: The UK government announced further chartered planes on Thursday to help British nationals leave Lebanon in response to the deteriorating security situation amid the conflict with Israel and to meet the demand for a flight chartered earlier this week.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the additional flights will continue for as long as the security situation allows. Meanwhile, it says it is also working with partners to increase capacity on commercial flights for British nationals.
“Recent events have demonstrated the volatility of the situation in Lebanon,” said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
“The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our number one priority. That’s why we are announcing additional chartered flights to help those who want to leave. I urge all British nationals still in Lebanon to register with the FCDO and leave the country immediately,” he said.
As per its established policy for such chartered flights, British nationals who have registered their presence with the government will be sent details on how to request a seat, with those not registered being urged to do so immediately. All British nationals and their spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 are eligible as long as they hold a valid travel document. Dependants who are not British nationals require a valid visa that has been granted for a period of stay in the UK of more than six months.
The FCDO said officials have been working “round the clock” in London, Beirut and the wider region to provide support to British nationals as violence escalated in the region. An FCDO Rapid Deployment Team has also arrived in Lebanon to bolster the support offered by British Embassy officials.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey travelled to Cyprus on Wednesday to meet with around 700 British military personnel deployed there as part of contingency planning to support nationals in Lebanon. He also met with his Cypriot counterpart, Vasilis Palmas, to discuss the urgent need for de-escalation in West Asia as well as the country’s support for humanitarian operations. Healey then held a call with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to express the UK’s condemnation of the Iranian attack and call for de-escalation and a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The FCDO reiterated that the UK continues to call for a ceasefire between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel, which would provide the space necessary to find a political solution in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, passed in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
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