Britons in Lebanon call for UK evacuation flights
British nationals stranded in Lebanon under Israeli bombardments are calling for the UK government to send evacuation planes as commercial flights out become very difficult to secure.
Dan Harper and his wife and two children drove out of their home in the hills outside Beirut on Thursday to seek shelter with their extended family at a village further north.
“The government are saying very strongly now, ‘British should leave, British must leave now’. But the messaging is very strange because there are no flights – there are no seats on any flights out of Beirut,” he told the BBC.
“When the message comes from Keir Starmer: ‘Brits leave now’, well, our reply is send us a plane then!”
Lebanon’s capital has been shelled since Monday as part of wider Israeli military strikes into the country, which have killed more than 630 people, and injured more than 1,600.
Cross-border attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have left tens of thousands of people displaced on both sides.
With Israel’s military indicating it could launch a ground invasion in coming days, Mr Harper told the BBC his family would take any evacuation flights but currently there were no options.
He said his calls to the UK embassy in Lebanon had gone unanswered, telling the BBC they were rerouted to a UK desk.
It’s estimated there are up to 6,000 UK nationals including dependents in Lebanon – some of whom have managed to secure last seats on departing commercial flights this week.
But Mr Harper’s concerns echo those of many British nationals in Lebanon who say they have made the decision to leave or are trying to leave but cannot get on planes.
International airlines have stopped flying in and out of the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, the country’s only commercial airport, leaving only Middle East Airlines, Iraqi Airways and Iran Air operational.
If the situation escalates into an invasion or strikes near where they had moved to now, Mr Harper said his family would also consider evacuating via sea – a route already being pursued by some Britons.
The BBC spoke to one student on Wednesday who said she was fleeing north to the city of Tripoli, from where she would attempt to get a boat out of the country to Turkey.
Mr Harper said he considered his family’s situation fortunate compared to other areas in Lebanon – given they were living in areas “where it’s very unlikely the war will get there”.
He feared for his friends in the south, he said, in areas that have borne the brunt of Israeli army’s strikes which have also targeted the Bekaa Valley region in the east and in parts in the capital too.
From their home in Monte Verde, a 20-minute drive from the city centre and half an hour from the country’s airport, his family had heard the explosions.
It is considered a safe area but “the noises of the sonic boom have made us feel afraid, have made the children feel afraid and we are worried that it can escalate. And it could be a ground invasion or similar to [the] 2006 [war].”
Having lived in Lebanon for over two decades, he and his wife, who is Lebanese, had heeded warnings first issued by Western countries last October to get out of the country – they had travelled to the UK during the summer and came back only last week “because school was starting and it was looking reasonably calm.”
“A lot of people have said ‘well, why haven’t the Brits left? Well, we can’t leave indefinitely so that’s one thing. Our lives are here.”
But then the pager attacks occurred on 18 September, a prelude to a series of other strikes.
Mr Harper said: “I’ve been here for 25 years so I’ve realised it’s part and parcel of living in this region – you’re going to have things like this happen. But when you’ve got children obviously, it’s different priorities.”
He said talks of a potential ceasefire offer some hope that life could return to normal. “We have to remain positive and hope they’ll find a solution and we can carry on with our lives and kids can co back to school.
“But it is looking less and less likely as this goes on.”
Israel has rejected calls for a temporary 21-day ceasefire from the US, UK, and the EU.
The BBC has sought comment from the UK government over its plans in Lebanon to help British nationals.
The Foreign Office has previously said: “The government is planning for a range of scenarios and is prepared to provide additional support to British nationals if required.”
Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC on Wednesday he could not go into detail about evacuation plans but contingency measures were in place.
The government has sent about 700 additional military personnel to Cyprus in case an emergency evacuation is required.
The UK already has a significant diplomatic and military presence close to Lebanon, including RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and two Royal Navy ships – RFA Mounts Bay and HMS Duncan – which have been in the eastern Mediterranean over the summer. The RAF also has planes and helicopters on standby.
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