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 of the development in a statement addressing the current conflict in the Middle East.
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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