Thousands of desperate Britons are struggling to flee Lebanon after the Government urged them to leave as fears of Israeli bombardment intensify.
Between 4,000 and 6,000 Brits are caught in the crossfire as fears grow of all-our war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Most flights have been axed, with Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport - the country's only civilian airport - operating on a skeleton service. Only Middle East Airlines, Iraqi Airways and Iran Air are still running flights.
Londoner Chloe Lewin, 24, expressed frustration following Labour leader Keir Starmer's call for Brits to leave.
"Keir Starmer's telling everyone to get out but we can't," she told the BBC. "You can't get out this week because they're [flights] all full and every time you get to the last page of the booking, it just crashes and it says you can't book a flight."
The freelance journalist, who has called Beirut home since January 2023, is one of many Brits facing a nightmare escape.
Student Isabella Baker abandoned plans to fly from Beirut, opting for a risky journey north to Tripoli in a bid to catch a boat to Turkey. She described hearing drones and sonic booms over the city following recent attacks.
Emma Bartholomew, who splits her time between London and Beirut, witnessed chaos firsthand. She described gridlock on the roads from ambulances on the day of the explosions and Israeli jets hovering over her hotel, where hundreds of displaced people have arrived from the city's southern suburbs.
Another Briton, Rita, told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight she was booked on a commercial flight next week but was eligible for a British evacuation flight. Her family in London is urging her to flee over land.
Anne Bouji, who has lived in the country for the last seven years, will stay with her partially paralysed Lebanese husband who does not have a British passport or visa.
She told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme "it was relatively safe" on the eastern side of Beirut where she lives, but in other parts of the city people were "very afraid and you can taste the fear in the air".
The Foreign Office has called on Brits to register their presence in Lebanon through its Register Your Presence service.
It comes amid reports that a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah could be implemented “in the coming hours” along the Israel-Lebanon border.
The ceasefire would effectively halt a possible Israeli ground operation in Lebanon, which has raised global alarm.
According to Sky News, a US administration official said: “The ceasefire will be for 21 days along the blue line (demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights).
“During those 21 days, the parties will negotiate towards a potential resolution of the conflict that has been ongoing since Hezbollah launched the attack on October 8, and to reach a comprehensive agreement along the blue line that allows for residents to return to their home in both Lebanon and Israel.”
