Foreign Office urgently amends travel advice for 18 countries including Cyprus

The Foreign Office has urgently amended its travel guidance and advice for 18 nations - including Turkey. UK government officials have issued a critical update for those travelling to Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

The alert - which has been issued amid swirling tensions in Israel - extends to Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, The Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel, Libya, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria too, the Foreign Office has told UK tourists who are planning to head out of the European Union on holidays.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office warned: "Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)." They added: "Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Lebanon could escalate quickly and pose risks for the wider region.

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"On 1 October, Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. On 26 October, Israel carried out military action against Iran." Israeli attacks in the past day have killed at least 53 people and injured 161 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said, bringing the total to 3,103 deaths and 13,856 injuries as a result of those attacks since last October.

The Lebanese army said three of its troops were injured in an Israeli airstrike near an army checkpoint in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. The army said the airstrike killed three Lebanese citizens. The advice went on: "Monitor this travel advice and other media as the situation is changing fast. Follow and contact FCDO travel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

"You can also get email notifications when this travel advice is updated. Read FCDO advice if you're affected by a crisis abroad." At least 43,469 Palestinian people have been killed and 102,561 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023.