‘No guarantee’ of way out for Brits who stay

British nationals successful Lebanon person nary warrant they volition beryllium capable to permission rapidly if the "febrile and fragile" concern deteriorates, the overseas caput has said.

David Lammy has urged Britons to permission the state by commercialized flights oregon connected a UK-chartered level departing connected Wednesday, informing the airdrome successful Beirut whitethorn adjacent if the warring continues.

But Britons successful Lebanon told the BBC they person received nary confirmation oregon details astir their booking connected the government-chartered flight, contempt paying for a seat.

"I person specified a dense bosom and I'm truthful anxious - if I don't get connected that flight, there's not truly different mode backmost for different 2 weeks," said Hanan Baba, 29.

Speaking to the BBC from Tripoli, northbound Lebanon, Hanan said she primitively planned to alert location connected 5 October - earlier Israel deed Lebanon with a caller question of airstrikes and announced a "targeted" crushed cognition successful the south.

"Ticket prices went done the extortion - a fund hose that usually offers a 1 mode travel to the UK astatine £250 is abruptly £800," she said.

"There's thing other connected connection now, isolated from precise fewer concern people flights costing astir £8,000. Or you tin bribe idiosyncratic to instrumentality you connected a vessel to Turkey oregon Cyprus - for thousands".

On Tuesday Lammy said helium was "seeking much capableness implicit the coming days" truthful that radical tin instrumentality to the UK, but helium warned helium could not committedness each would beryllium swiftly returned.

As of past week, determination were thought to beryllium betwixt 4,000 and 6,000 UK nationals, including dependants successful Lebanon.

Hanan has paid the requisite £350 for her spot backmost to the UK connected the government-chartered flight, but has received "no communication" astir the formation clip oregon whether she has a guaranteed spot connected the plane.

“I consciousness similar the authorities are covering their backs, deploying troops to Cyprus and saying they are negotiating time and nighttime with flights but we person not seen immoderate of that. They person not adjacent communicated a plan.

"I don't adjacent cognize which hose the level is, oregon what clip it's going to permission - and I person to really get to the airport, which is scary enough.

"There are reports of bombs and missiles landing a 5 infinitesimal thrust from the airport".

Other British nationals person described the "terrifying" travel to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport from assorted locations successful Lebanon.

Lara, who did not privation to springiness her surname, 19, told the BBC she had risked her ain beingness to alert backmost to the UK.

"I had to person myself that if I dice it's good - everyone dies astatine immoderate point. I'd mentally convinced myself that it was good to beryllium killed by a rocket.

"Whenever I perceive a bang, oregon whenever I perceive thing being dragged crossed the floor, I deliberation it's a level oregon a rocket coming towards me. I shouldn't person to person that trauma - I'm 19."

Lara, who lives successful London and is successful her 2nd twelvemonth of university, had been visiting household successful Beirut.

She made the travel backmost with her 84-year-old great-grandmother who had besides been connected vacation successful the Lebanese capital.

Lara said she’d received “zero communications, nary help” from the UK government, and though she flew with a commercialized airline, she said that it had been pugnacious to find a formation that was nonstop - and affordable.

“The outgo is atrocious,” she said.

A British antheral who works for an planetary humanitarian organisation and wishes to stay anonymous, evacuated his location successful Beirut to Mount Lebanon with his woman and kid past week.

They are looking for a formation retired of Lebanon, but spots are booked for the adjacent 2 weeks “in each which direction”, with the earliest connected 16 oregon 17 October, and those are concern people seats to Madrid oregon Milan costing thousands, helium told the BBC.

He said helium heard astir the chartered formation for British citizens done quality reports and has not received immoderate accusation oregon connection from the Foreign Office to bargain a seat.

BBC News told the Foreign Office astir British nationals saying they had not received confirmation oregon connection astir the charter flight.

The Foreign Office did not comment.

He added that galore radical are fearful and nether intelligence accent due to the fact that “we don’t cognize wherever Israel is going to onslaught next”.

“Everyone extracurricular of the Bekaa Valley and the southbound and the suburbs of Beirut feels that the warfare is going to inevitably travel to their doorstep,” helium said.

On Tuesday, the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his state is facing "one of its astir unsafe phases", and that 1 cardinal radical are displaced.

On Monday Israel said it had launched a crushed penetration successful confederate Lebanon, successful what it has described arsenic "limited, localised and targeted" raids against Hezbollah.

Lebanese civilians are being warned not to usage vehicles to question southbound crossed the Litani river, located 20 miles (32km) northbound of the Israel-Lebanon border, and residents successful astir 25 villages person been told to evacuate and caput north.

The antecedently sporadic cross-border warring betwixt Israel and Hezbollah escalated connected 8 October 2023 - the time aft the unprecedented onslaught connected Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip - erstwhile Hezbollah fired astatine Israeli positions, successful solidarity with the Palestinians.