Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and former Labour MP Louise Ellman were among 63 British nationals evacuated from Israel by the Royal Air Force on Monday, Jewish News has learned.

The group was flown out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard an RAF A400 military aircraft and taken to Cyprus, where they were expected to board a second flight back to the UK later the same day.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed the evacuation and said further flights are planned. He also noted that one British national had been injured during recent Iranian missile attacks on Israel and was receiving consular assistance.

Speaking to Jewish News upon arrival in Cyprus, Ellman said she was notified of the evacuation flight earlier that morning. She had been in Israel as part of a Board of Deputies solidarity visit for hostages when the conflict with Iran escalated. During her stay in Jerusalem, she took refuge in shelters most nights as Iranian missiles targeted the area.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis was also in Israel and joined the same evacuation flight after undergoing routine airport security checks.

Addressing the Commons, Lammy reiterated a call for diplomacy with Iran, urging its leadership to engage in serious negotiations with the United States in the wake of American strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“My message to Tehran is clear: take the off-ramp, de-escalate this crisis, and negotiate seriously with the U.S.,” he said. “The alternative is a wider, more destructive conflict with unpredictable consequences.” Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Wikimedia commons.