Brits in Qatar warned 'shelter in place' as Iran-Israel war escalates

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its travel advice for Qatar to recommend British nationals in the Gulf state “shelter in place”.

In an update to the page, the FCDO said: “Following a US security alert for US nationals in Qatar, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice. Follow instructions from local authorities.

“The FCDO is in contact with local authorities and international partners, and will provide further updates as the situation develops.” The warnings come after the State Department told US citizens in international locations to "exercise increased caution," following the US bombings of three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday.

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Donald Trump described the strikes as "very successful" - however, Iranhas since threatened to hit back. The Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a number of countries were urging precautions, but the embassy notice did "not necessarily reflect the existence of specific threats".

Qatar has the largest US military base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, with around 10,000 US troops based out there. As well as Qatar, a number of other countries have travel warnings on the FCDO site since the weekend, including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

A statement reads: "Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Iran have the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning including since US military strikes against Iran on June 22. There is a possibility of travel disruption, including short-notice airspace closures, delayed and cancelled flights, and other unanticipated travel impacts.'

It adds that British tourists are encouraged to "read the FCDO's advice on if you're affected by a crisis abroad" and to "monitor local and international media for the latest information". Israel first attacked Iran on June 13, with the pair since engaging in a series of ongoing strikes between each other.

Earlier today (June 23), Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that one British national was injured in Israel as a result of Iranian airstrikes. In addition, he added that the first RAF evacuation flight of 63 vulnerable British nationals left Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport for Cyprus.

In a Commons update, Mr Lammy 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."

While on the same day, Israel's military warned Iranians that it will continue to attack military sites around Tehran over "the coming days." The military issued the message on social via, though Iranians are struggling to access the outside world due to the internet being shutdown in the country.

The warning read: "We ask you to stay away from weapons production centres, military bases and security institutions affiliated with the regime." Iran, though, has criticised the warnings as nothing more than a means to frighten its public.

Meanwhile, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah indicated that the group will not join the war between Iran and Israel at this moment in time. Naim Kassem spoke in his first public comments since the US weekend strikes saying that his group is ready to back any decision taken by the Lebanese state to force Israel to stop the war.