UK government charters flight for British citizens to flee Lebanon: ‘We are in a state of terror’

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy British citizens seeking to flee Lebanon have described being in a “state of terror” as Israel has launched a ground invasion against Hezbollah – with the UK government having chartered flight out of the country for Wednesday. The foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: "I intend to put on a charter flight using commercial services tomorrow Some 4,000 to 6,000 British nationals are thought to be in Lebanon and they have been encouraged to register with the UK authorities as efforts are stepped up to provide routes out on flights. Mr Lammy, told broadcasters: “We cannot make guarantees in what is a febrile and fragile situation and I suspect more people are coming forward because they recognise that in previous conflicts of this kind it has been quite hard, actually, to get out of harm’s way.” In a brief announcement released in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah in areas close to the Lebanon border between the two nations. On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sir Keir Starmer has been “very, very clear” that British nationals “should leave now, particularly whilst commercial flights are still available”.