Britons in Lebanon were urged on Wednesday to register with the Foreign Office as tensions in the Middle East rocketed.
The British government put out the advice stating: “TRAVEL UPDATE: if you are a British national in Lebanon, you should register your presence to receive the latest information”
British nationals in Lebanon have been urged to leave the country, while commercial flights are still running.
They have also been told not to travel to Lebanon, and if they are there to have plans in place which do not depend on support from the UK government to deal with a suddenly deteriorating situation.
Fears of the Gaza conflict escalating into a wider Middle East war dramatically increased on Wednesday after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
His death came 24 hours after Israel claimed to have killed a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon it said was behind a deadly strike on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights which killed a dozen children and teenagers on Saturday.
Royal Navy ship HMS Duncan and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Cardigan Bay are in the region undertaking existing tasks and have not currently be deployed to take part in any evacuation operation.
However, evacuations from previous war zones have been preceded by registration schemes being set up.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy tweeted: “British nationals in Lebanon should register their presence to receive the latest information from FCDO.”
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The Foreign Office stressed that the registration service is for British nationals to tell the UK government that they are in Lebanon.
“Once you have registered, we will send you important updates,” it added.
“Check the (FCDO) travel advice for Lebanon for the latest guidance.
“You can only register if you hold a UK passport.”
To register, British citizens will need an email address that they can access, their UK passport number.
If people are unable to use the Foreign Office online form, they can phone +44 20 7008 5000.
Britain evacuated 2,197 people to safety from Sudan in spring of 2023 in what the Government said was the longest and largest airlift by any Western nation during the crisis.
The RAF deployed more than 1,000 personnel as an air bridge was put in place to rescue people in the war-stricken country.
Nationals from the US, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia were also on the UK evacuation flights.
The British government has in the past been accused of being slow to evacuate its citizens from conflict zones but often has to put in place plans to bring home far more people than other countries.
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