More charter flights to evacuate BritonsĀ 

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was ready to support ā€œhundredsā€ more to leave Lebanon in the coming days…reports Asian Lite News

Britain will charter more flights to help citizens and dependents leave Lebanon, the foreign office said on Thursday as Israel continued to strike Beirut overnight.

More than 150 British nationals and their dependents were evacuated from the Lebanese capital on a UK government chartered flight that arrived in Birmingham, central England, on Wednesday, the ministry said.

ā€œA limited numberā€ of flights will depart from Beirutā€™s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Thursday, and ā€œwill continue for as long as the security situation allows,ā€ it added.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was ready to support ā€œhundredsā€ more to leave Lebanon in the coming days.

The statement came a day after Defense Secretary John Healey visited Cyprus, where 700 British troops and staff are stationed to prepare for the possible evacuations.

Many commercial airlines have suspended flights to and from Beirut.

ā€œRecent events have demonstrated the volatility of the situation in Lebanon,ā€ Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Thursday, reiterating his message for nationals to ā€œleave the country immediately.ā€

As of last week, there were around 5,000 British nationals, dual nationals and dependents in Lebanon, according to government estimates.

Israel has intensified its bombing of southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut, saying it aims to secure its northern border after nearly a year of hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The fighting has cost more than 1,000 lives in Lebanon so far.

The British government has confirmed that two of its fighter jets and a tanker were involved in responding to Iranā€™s firing of a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, although they ā€œdid not engage any targets.ā€

EU announces extra ā‚¬30 mn humanitarian aid

Meanwhile, The European Commission announced on Thursday an extra $33.1 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, which has been hit by clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

“I am extremely concerned by the constant escalation of tensions in the Middle East. All parties must do their outmost to protect the lives of innocent civilians,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

This comes in addition to the 10 million euros already announced on Sept. 29 and brings total EU humanitarian assistance to the country to over 104 million euros this year.

WHO warning

At least 28 on-duty medics have been killed in the past 24 hours in Lebanon, where Israel has launched airstrikes and sent troops to fight Hezbollah in an escalating conflict, the World Health Organization chief said on Thursday.

ā€œMany (other) health workers are not reporting to duty and fled the areas where they work due to bombardments,ā€ Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online press briefing, calling for stronger protections for health workers.

ā€œThis is severely limiting the provision of mass trauma management and continuity of health services,ā€ he said.

The global health agency will not be able to deliver a large planned shipment of trauma and medical supplies to the country on Friday due to flight restrictions, he added.

WHOā€™s representative in Lebanon Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar told the briefing that all of the health care workers killed in the past day had been on duty, helping with the wounded.

A total of nearly 2,000 people have been killed, including 127 children, and 9,384 injured since the start of Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the last year, the countryā€™s health ministry said.

ā€œHospitals have been already evacuated. I think what I can say for now is the capacity for mass casualty management exists, but itā€™s just a matter of time until the system actually reaches its limit,ā€ said the WHOā€™s Abubakar.

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