British nationals in Lebanon should leave the country, the UK's foreign secretary has said in a post on X.

David Lammy says he is concerned by "rising tensions and civilian casualties" in Lebanon amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel has today carried out air strikes on southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate following this week's attacks targeting militants with exploding pagers.

Mr Lammy said he had spoken to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and "expressed deep concern".

"We discussed the need for a negotiated solution to restore stability and security across the Blue Line," he said in one of two posts on X.

"My message to British nationals in Lebanon is leave while commercial options remain. 

"Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly."