British-Lebanese family describe ‘terrifying’ journey out of Beirut

A British-Lebanese family has been reunited after making a “terrifying” journey out of Beirut with missiles landing “left, right and centre”.

At Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, 19-year-old Lara – who did not want to give her surname – was greeted by her mother Solange after cutting short a holiday to Lebanon.

Lara, who travelled with her grandmother who is in her 90s, was also greeted by her 13-year-old brother Ali, who came back from Lebanon on Saturday.

Asked about her journey to the airport, she said: “It was terrifying, I didn’t know if I was going to make it.

“People in Lebanon have said goodbye to me in a way they shouldn’t. Like they will never see me again.

“Whenever I hear a bang I think it’s a missile coming towards me.”

The woman added that some people were struggling to afford to pay for flights out of Lebanon at short notice.

Asked if the Foreign Office was doing enough, she said: “No, it’s disgusting.”

On Monday, the Government announced it had chartered a flight out of Lebanon for Britons wanting to leave.

Lara’s brother, Ali, said of his journey: “I was at risk of losing my life. There were rockets left, right and centre.

Ali showed the PA news agency a video he filmed on his way to Beirut Airport on Saturday, showing plumes of smoke rising into the air over the city.

The youngster said he “couldn’t sleep” in the country because the drones were flying so low.

“It was like having a fly in your ear,” he added.

Their mother Solange said: “We lost a lot of family and friends last week. Some of them are still under the rubble.”

Talking about her children, she said: “It’s so sad that at that age they’ve seen so much. They saw the Port of Beirut explosion. But nothing will stop them going back.

“My daughter said she would be happy to die if they bomb the airport.”

A 60-year-old United Nations worker said the situation in Lebanon is the worst he has seen in the 13 years he has worked there.

The man, who did not want to be named, arrived in the UK having retired from his job as planned.

He said explosions and shelling have significantly increased over the last few weeks in the city of Tyre where he was working.

“It’s rough, lots of civilian areas have been hit,” he said.

“I’ve not seen this intensity before, it’s bad.

“Some have moved away from Tyre to Beirut further from the border.

“But people are stoic,” he added.