Britain withdraws some embassy staff from Lebanon

Britain's Foreign Office said on Monday it was temporarily withdrawing some British embassy staff from Lebanon.

It had already advised Britons against all travel to Lebanon due to the conflict between neighbouring Israel and Gaza, and encouraged any Britons still in the country to leave while commercial flights remain.

The war has exacerbated tensions in the region. More than 150 Palestinians in West Bank have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In the north of Israel, the army and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement traded fire across the border, with each claiming to have hit the other's positions along the frontier.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has said Israel's war with Hamas could draw in other regional forces, but Conricus said Israel's position was "very defensive" and soldiers have "only been responding to attacks from Hezbollah".

An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother on Sunday, Lebanese authorities said, as the Israeli army said a Hezbollah attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli citizen in northern Israel.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it would never tolerate attacks on civilians and its response would be "firm and strong".

• Israel intensifies Gaza strikes on Monday despite ceasefire calls