‘Leave immediately,’ Starmer tells Britons in Lebanon – as UK troops sent to Cyprus
The prime minister has told Britons in Lebanon to “leave immediately” as around 700 UK troops are deployed to Cyprus in case an emergency evacuation is needed.
Sir Keir Starmer said “we are ramping up the contingency plans… in light of the escalation”, with fears growing of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It is important that we be really, really clear: now is the time to leave,” the PM said.
Defence Secretary John Healey – who chaired a meeting of the UK’s emergency COBRA committee earlier – also urged all Britons to leave Lebanon “now”.
Follow latest: Top Hezbollah commander ‘killed in Beirut’
Two British warships are already in the region and would be used if any evacuation operation is ordered. Royal Air Force planes and helicopters are also on standby.
A major UK military base in Cyprus – RAF Akrotiri – would be an important staging post.
The deployment of military personnel will happen in the coming hours. They will be supported by Border Force and Foreign Office officials.
The move marks a significant ramping up of UK efforts to prepare for a potential large-scale evacuation operation – a complex and dangerous move that has long been anticipated as a possibility given the volatility on the ground.
RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus would be an important staging post for an evacuation. File pic
A government statement described it as “the first phase of its contingency plans following significant escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days”.
Thousands of British nationals are in Lebanon.
Sir Keir said he was “worried about the situation” in Lebanon, adding: “I think we need to be clear we need de-escalation, we need a ceasefire, we need to pull back from the brink.”
In a sign of growing concern, Mr Healey left the Labour Party conference early to chair the COBRA meeting of ministers as well as intelligence chiefs and diplomats.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Israel vows to continue attacks on Lebanon
“Events in the past hours and days have demonstrated how volatile this situation is, which is why our message is clear, British nationals should leave now,” the defence secretary said in a statement afterwards.
“We continue to urge all sides to step back from conflict to prevent further tragic loss of life. Our government is ensuring all preparations are in place to support British nationals should the situation deteriorate. I want to thank the British personnel who are deploying in the region for their commitment and professionalism.”
HMS Duncan, a Type 45 destroyer, and RFA Mounts Bay, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship, are already in the eastern Mediterranean ready to mobilise.
It is not the first time this year that the military has scrambled to prepare for a potential evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Middle East: Latest from Sky News as conflict escalates
Just last month, more than 1,000 military personnel were on standby in Cyprus and the UK to mobilise as tensions soared. That level of readiness was subsequently eased but it is now being ramped back up, with the crisis far more grave.
In the past week, Israel has launched its biggest offensive against Hezbollah – which is backed by Iran – since the two sides went to war in 2006. Hezbollah’s military wing is considered a terrorist organisation by the UK government.
The operation began with the detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group – though Israel has not confirmed it was behind this covert hybrid attack.
It quickly evolved into overt warfare, with Israeli jets launching punishing waves of airstrikes. The Israel Defence Forces said they targeted Hezbollah weapons sites and killed a number of senior commanders. However hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured, including women and children.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in southern Lebanon.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Lebanon will pay a big price if war escalates’
The Israeli government says the aim of its operation is to stop Hezbollah from being able to fire into northern Israel – something the militant group has done since a day after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
The Hezbollah strikes have forced tens of thousands of Israeli citizens to flee their homes in the north of Israel. The government says it wants to enable them to return home – a goal that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah – has vowed to thwart.
The Israeli operation – which has dealt a punishing blow to Hezbollah – raises the possibility of Hezbollah using its arsenal of longer rage missiles to hit targets deeper inside Israeli territory – such a move would almost certainly trigger an Israeli ground attack.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
IDF reservists call for end to war in Gaza
Read more:
Israeli pilots’ letter reveals deepening rift
Seriously ill children from Gaza allowed into UK
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway