Britain on Sunday said it had withdrawn the families of embassy staff in Beirut due to the volatile security situation in Lebanon and reiterated a call for citizens in the country to leave given the risk of escalation in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
"We are deeply concerned with the highly volatile security situation in Lebanon," a foreign office spokesperson said, saying additional consular officials, border force and military personnel had been deployed to the region.
"We have also temporarily withdrawn the families of officials working at the British Embassy Beirut... All British nationals should leave Lebanon now, while commercial routes are still available."
Last week, Britain urged its nationals to leave Lebanon and advised against traveling there, amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We are advising British nationals to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country. This is a fast-moving situation. FCDO staff are working round the clock to help ensure the safety of British nationals,” wrote British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a post on X.
The British warning came a day after the US Embassy in Beirut issued a security alert for Lebanon, urging citizens to avoid travel to the area.
Those alerts were issued before the eliminations of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut, and of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the elimination of Haniyeh, but Israel has commented on his elimination.
Israel is preparing for a retaliation by Iran and Hezbollah to the two eliminations.
US officials told CNN on Thursday that the US is expecting that an Iranian attack in retaliation for the elimination of Haniyeh may be similar to the barrage of ballistic missiles and drones launched against Israel on April 13.
The officials said that this time the attack could be larger and more complicated than before, including the possibility of a coordinated attack with Iranian proxies from multiple directions.
On Sunday, an Israeli official told NBC News that Israel is bracing for a potential multiday attack by Iran and Hezbollah.
The official said Israel fears waves of missiles and drones could be fired over several days and “they’ll just try to wear us out.”