A British national has been injured during Iran's aerial bombardment of Israel, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has confirmed.
Lammy, who was updating MPs in an urgent Commons statement, also revealed that 63 British nationals had been evacuated from Israel by the Royal Air Force.
British nationals were taken from Tel Aviv airport earlier today, arriving at Larnaca in Cyprus just over an hour later.
The Foreign Secretary said: “This is a perilous moment in the Middle East, waves of strikes between Israel and Iran have now lasted for 10 days, continuing overnight.
“I know the whole House will have in their thoughts the many civilians impacted by the fighting.
"I can confirm today, this includes one British national, injured in Israel. We’ve reached out to offer consular support.”
The RAF's first evacuation flight took off earlier today, taking British nationals from Tel Aviv airport to Larnaca in Cyprus.
Updating MPs about the key details of the evacuation flight, Lammy revealed: “I can confirm to the House that a Royal Air Force A400 has flown into Tel Aviv and taken 63 British nationals and their dependants to Cyprus, from where they will be brought home this evening.
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"Further flights will follow in the coming days, security allowing.”
Around 4,000 British nationals have registered their presence in Israel to the Foreign Office.
A further 1,000 have requested a seat on a RAF-run evacuation flight.
Passengers on this morning's flight were alerted in the early hours of the morning.
A first responder walks by an impact site following Iran's strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, IsraelREUTERS“We were notified at 3am this morning," one passenger claimed.
"People are feeling very relieved, there are lots of empty seats on board despite people saying it is full."
Lammy also confirmed that further evacuation flights will take place based on “demand and the latest security situation”.
The Foreign Secretary added: “Today’s flight will bring British nationals and their dependents safely back to the UK.
A stock image of the A400M
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"While the situation in the Middle East remains volatile, we are working around the clock to secure more flights and bring more people home."
The first evacuation flight took place aboard an RAF A-400M aircraft.
Passengers were transferred on to a civilian charter aircraft ahead of returning to the UK from Cyprus.
However, following Donald Trump's strikes against Iran, Tehran looks increasingly poised to target the West.
PICTURED: Emergency personnel work at an impact site in Tel Aviv following a missile attack from IranREUTERSBusiness Secretary Jonathan Reynolds warned that Iran's disruptive spying operations in the UK were “already at a significant level”.
“I think it would be naive to say that wouldn’t potentially increase but again, there’s a choice here for Iran,” Reynolds added.
“Do they want to continue being an agent of instability in the region and the wider world? Where has that got them? Where has it got the Iranian people?
“There is a better course of action for Iran to take here and I think they should consider that.”
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