Foreign Secretary urges British nationals to leave Lebanon, warns situation ‘could deteriorate rapidly’

The Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons, “I extend my deepest sympathies to their families and to the Druze community as they grieve for their loved ones. The Government is unequivocal in condemning this horrific attack and calling on Hezbollah to cease their rocket strikes.”

Around 60,000 Israelis have been forcibly displaced by near-constant Hezbollah rocket fire since October 7 and over 40 Israelis have been killed.

Lammy said that the government supported “Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international humanitarian law.”

He described the hostilities on the Israel-Lebanese border as “one aspect of the crisis in the Middle East” and condemned what he called “malign Iranian activity” in supporting “Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and other groups whose actions destabilise the region and who show scant regard for the death and destruction this causes.”

The government, he assured MPs, “is committed to working alongside our partners to counter Iranian threats.”

The Foreign Secretary repeated calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and told parliamentarians that “a ceasefire would not only alleviate the suffering in Gaza and secure the hostages’ release. It would also reduce tensions across the region, helping to prevent an escalatory cycle in Lebanon.”