The escalation of violence in the Middle East has prompted the British government to evacuate about 1,300 British nationals from Lebanon. The relieved evacuees arrived in the Cypriot port of Limassol on Royal Navy ship, HMS Bulwark. They will now head to RAF Akrotiri and await flights to take them back to the UK.

Radical Muslim preacher Omar Bakri Mohammad, who was banned from Britain last year, was among those who attempted to gain access to board the ship, although he was identified and turned back.

The latest rescue follows HMS York, which on Thursday transported 700 people from Lebanon.

A United Nations (UN) chartered ferry also has been in operation to evacuate others trapped in the southern port of Tyre, which has been hit by Israeli air-strikes.

The head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury has condemned the increasing violence that has hit the Middle East.

Dr Rowan Williams, who leads the 77-million Anglican worldwide Church expressed his alarm at the “spiral of violence, the vicious circle of attack and retaliation, that has developed over the last few days”.

He joins in a chorus of spiritual and political leaders around the world calling for an end to the atrocities.

The world’s most powerful political leaders struggled on Sunday to find ways to prevent the Middle East violence from expanding into an even more extensive war. As the world’s G8 leaders met, they urged Israel to show “utmost restraint” during the difficult time, and blamed Islamic militant group Hezbollah and Hamas for instigating the unfolding crisis, which has now been ongoing for nearly two weeks.

Writing to the Heads of Churches in the Lebanon, Dr Williams said, “I have been alarmed at the spiral of violence, the vicious circle of attack and retaliation, that has developed over the last few days.