BRITISH authorities are scrambling to provide charter flights to evacuate UK citizens from Israel amid spiralling conflict in the Middle East.
Downing Street urged Britons in the region to register their presence with the Foreign Office as the crisis deepens and Keir Starmer called on all sides to reach a diplomatic outcome.
Number 10 on Friday morning said that the situation remains “fast-moving” and would continue to be monitored closely as the Government works with Israeli authorities to ready flights out of Tel Aviv.
A spokesman 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.
“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 underway to provide the flights “based on levels of demand” from UK citizens when airspace reopens.
Land routes out of Israel remain open and British staff are on hand to support UK nationals who have crossed the border, he added.
Starmer has also urged Donald Trump (above) to step back from military action against Iran after a series of sabre-rattling posts from the US president on his Truth Social platform.
The Prime Minister said there is a “real risk of escalation” in the conflict, adding that there had previously been “several rounds of discussions with the US” and “that, to me, is the way to resolve this issue”.
Israeli air strikes reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early on Friday, Iranian media reported.
Since the conflict erupted last week, at least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
Meanwhile, at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded, according to the Israeli authorities.
It remains unclear whether the UK would join any military action, although there has been speculation that US involvement could require using the British-controlled base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.
The B-2 stealth bombers based there are capable of carrying specialised “bunker buster” bombs, which could be used against Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordo.
Attorney General Lord Hermer (below) is reported to have raised legal concerns about any British involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies, which could limit the extent of any support for the US if Trump decides to back up Israeli attacks on Iran.
Lammy arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with the Iranian foreign minister and European allies as the UK presses for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The Foreign Secretary is meeting Abbas Araghchi alongside his counterparts from France, Germany and the EU as he seeks to negotiate a settlement before Trump decides on whether to take military action against Tehran.
In a statement read by his press secretary on Thursday, Trump said there was still “a substantial chance of negotiations” and said he would make a decision on deploying US forces “within the next two weeks”.
Trump had previously said he “may” join Israeli strikes against Iran and its nuclear programme, but added: “I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
Friday’s meeting with the so-called E3 countries follows Lammy’s visit to Washington, where he met US secretary of state Marco Rubio in the White House on Thursday evening to discuss “how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict”.
