UK urges citizens in Lebanon to leave as 'situation could deteriorate rapidly'

LONDON

The British foreign secretary on Thursday expressed deep concern over rising tensions in Lebanon, urging UK citizens to leave the country while commercial options remain.

David Lammy, in phone conversations with his Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati, expressed deep concern about rising tensions and civilian casualties in Lebanon.

The foreign secretary said they discussed the need of negotiation to find a solution to restore stability and security across the Blue Line.

Lammy also urged British nationals to leave Lebanon, citing the region's rising tension.

"My message to British nationals in Lebanon is leave while commercial options remain. Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly," he wrote on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, thousands of pagers exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, killing 12 and injuring 2,323. A second wave of device explosions on Wednesday killed 25 people and injured 608 others.

There has been no Israeli response to the blasts, which occurred amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the beginning of Israel's deadly onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 people, the majority of whom are women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 of last year.