UK to charter flights to get Britons out of Israel

Israeli Home Front Command team members walk at the site where Iranian ballistic missiles struck residential buildings in Beer Sheva, southern Israel (Picture: EPA)
Britain is working to arrange evacuation flights out of Tel Aviv as fighting between Israel and Iran enters a second week despite hundreds of people killed.
Thousands of British nationals are understood to be stranded after Israel shut its airspace hours after launching a major attack on Iran last Friday.
All airports were closed – including for incoming flights – leaving tourists with no choice but to wait for their governments to step in.
The UK Foreign Office has now urged the remaining British nationals in Israel to register their presence with them as it prepares charter flights.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Downing Street is working with the Israeli authorities to arrange transport out of the region as the crisis only deepens.
A spokesperson said this morning that the situation remains ‘fast-moving’ and would continue to be monitored closely.
They added: ‘We are advising British nationals to continue to register their presence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to be contactable with further guidance on these flights.

Israeli rescue team evacuate Haim Rasin from his apartment after it was destroyed in an Iranian missile strike in Ramat Gan (Picture: AP)
‘The Foreign Secretary will shortly announce that the government is working with the Israeli authorities to provide charter flights from Tel Aviv airport once airspace reopens.’
Foreign secretary David Lammy said work was under way to provide the flights ‘based on levels of demand’ from UK citizens when the airspace reopens.
Land routes out of Israel remain open and British staff are on hand to support nationals who have crossed the border, he added.
Some governments are using land borders to get their citizens out by road to countries where airports remain open.

A woman is evacuated from the site of a direct hit from an Iranian missile strike in Ramat Gan, Israel (Picture: AP)
Foreign nationals from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and others have been evacuated both from Israel and Iran.
The EU has helped evacuate some 400 people from Israel via Jordan and Egypt as part of its efforts to coordinate an emergency response within the 27-nation bloc.
‘Member states coordinate the list and we co-finance these flights up to 75% of the transport costs,’ European Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova told a regular press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
Hrncirova said the EU was fielding requests by Slovakia, Lithuania, Greece, and Poland for assistance with Middle East evacuations.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.