Britain withdraws families of Beirut embassy staff amid rising tensions

London: Britain on Sunday said it had withdrawn the families of embassy staff in Beirut due to the volatile security situation in Lebanon and reiterated a call for citizens in the country to leave given the risk of escalation in the Middle East.

"We are deeply concerned with the highly volatile security situation in Lebanon," a foreign office spokesperson said, saying additional consular officials, border force and military personnel had been deployed to the region.

"We have also temporarily withdrawn the families of officials working at the British Embassy Beirut... All British nationals should leave Lebanon now, while commercial routes are still available."