Britons trying to flee conflict in Lebanon blocked by bureaucracy

Lebanon’s political isolation and economic collapse have left hundreds of Britons trying to flee before an expected intensification of the conflict with Israel.
The Foreign Office has advised British citizens to leave as southern villages in Lebanon are regularly bombarded by Israeli jets and artillery. The Israelis are responding to rocket attacks by Hez­b­ollah after Fouad Shukr, a leader of the Iran-backed militant group, was killed in a missile strike on southern Beirut.
Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, was also assassinated in Tehran and Iran has threatened revenge.
British citizens in Lebanon say it is proving difficult to follow Foreign Office ­advice, and some say they face ­bureaucratic obstacles. The closure of the border with Syria for most westerners and the lack of ferry services means the airport is the only route in or out.
Others, mostly Britons married to Lebanese, say their money was lost or frozen when the country’s banking system collapsed in 2019 and they cannot afford to return to the UK.
Angela Melki, 71, from Cambridge, said she lost her money in the financial collapse “and now we can get only $400 a month, we can’t afford to leave”. More than 50 years ago she married Toufic, now 79, and ran a computer and stationery company in London before retiring to Lebanon.
Their savings of $2.7 million were ­vastly reduced when the banks ­collapsed. The government, perpetually divided between pro- and anti-Hezbollah factions, defaulted on an international loan then failed to act during a run on the banks.
Deposits were frozen, in effect making them inaccessible, and limiting withdrawals to a few hundred dollars a month.
“The collapse left us with less than a million,” Melki said. “Over $1.7 million disappeared and the rest has been spent. In desperation we told the bank they could keep half of what is left just so we could get the other half out and leave. They said no.”
• British troops on standby to evacuate Lebanon
Much to Melki’s surprise, her bank told her the UK “was expensive and she wouldn’t get far on $400 a month”.
The couple plan to wait out any Israeli attacks in the basement of their home in Monteverde, overlooking ­Beirut. The house has been on the market for years but potential buyers are few and far between.
In the meantime every day the air above Beirut is torn by sonic booms as Israeli jets send a warning to Hezbollah.
Meelie, 34, a British national who is part of an initiative to provide sanitary support to women and who asked for her surname not to be used, said she was torn because media reports were terrifying but life on the ground was “OK”.
She added: “Knowing the women I collaborate with are stuck here and can’t leave, I want to stay and support them. I have chosen to be here. If I leave, I’m giving in to the power of my passport and it feels ­immoral.”
She said she had just seen her mother off at the airport. “She was in tears,” she added. “At dinner last night my mother vocalised her thought that this might be the last supper. We both just laughed.”