First flight to evacuate British nationals has left Israel, foreign secretary says | World News

First flight to evacuate British nationals has left Israel, foreign secretary says | World News



The first flight to evacuate British citizens from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has taken off, the foreign secretary has said.

David Lammy told the Commons that an RAF A400 took a group of 63 British nationals and dependants to Cyprus, from where they will be taken to the UK.

Mr Lammy said the group will be brought home “this evening”, and more flights will follow.

The UK had not begun evacuating civilians up to this point, saying it had to wait for airspace to open up before planes could be sent.

However, the families of diplomatic staff were taken to safety last week, before the US launched a bombing raid on Iranian nuclear facilities.

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