Britons will continue to fly from Lebanon on Thursday after more than 150 British nationals and dependents left Beirut on the first UK government-chartered plane.

As Israel continued its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, further blasts hit Lebanon’s capital Beirut, increasing concerns about how long the airport can remain open.

The UK Foreign Office said a “limited number” of additional flights had been chartered, including one on Thursday.

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines is also continuing to operate its scheduled services from Beirut.

According to the report, Britons have been advised to get the first flight available out of Lebanon.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, “Recent events have demonstrated the volatility of the situation in Lebanon. The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our number one priority. That’s why we are announcing additional chartered flights to help those who want to leave. I urge all British nationals still in Lebanon to register with the FCDO (Foreign Office) and leave the country immediately.’’

At least nine people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Beirut overnight, including seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian emergency workers.

The ground offensive in southern Lebanon also continued, with fighting which left eight Israeli soldiers dead. Israel has warned people to leave areas deeper into Lebanon, north of a UN-declared buffer zone, in a sign it would widen its ground operation. There are concerns in London that further military activity by Israel could result in the closure of the airport, cutting off the most straightforward exit route for British nationals in Lebanon.

If that happened the only option could be a military-led evacuation coordination from the British bases in Cyprus. Around 700 troops and Foreign Office and Home Office staff, including Border Force officers, have been deployed to Cyprus in case an emergency evacuation is needed.

The UK and allies continued to urge Israel and its adversaries to pull back from the brink of all-out war in the Middle East. Israel is still considering how to retaliate to Iran’s ballistic missile barrage earlier this week.

Lebanon’s ambassador to the UK Rami Mortada said Israel has opened a “Pandora’s Box” in the Middle East and called for a diplomatic solution to the fighting.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “It’s clear that Israel has chosen an escalatory path in a volatile and dangerous region. It opened a Pandora’s Box and we have said from the beginning that we will want to seek a diplomatic solution and diplomatic solutions exist. We are on a track trying to discuss a diplomatic alternative, but the hotheads in Israel chose a different path.”

(dpa/NAN)