HEZBOLLAH and Israel are just hours away from a ceasefire, reports claim, amid fears an “all-out war” could turn southern Lebanon into a “death zone”.
A full-scale war in the Middle East seemed all but inevitable last night as Israel’s army chief told his forces to gear up to invade.
AFPAn Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Khiam[/caption]
AFPIsraeli soldiers have been preparing to invade Lebanon[/caption]
AFPA F-15 Eagle fighter jet flies over the Israeli northern city of Haifa[/caption]
Half a million Lebanese have already fled their homes
But Western allies are now scrambling to broker a temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel – branding the escalation of violence “intolerable”.
Hundreds of people have this week been killed and half a million forced to flee their homes as Israel has pummelled areas of southern Lebanon used by Hezbollah with airstrikes.
Thousands of Brits remain in the country and the military is on standby to evacuate them if Israel does invade.
But a pause on hostilities could begin in just “hours”, the Telegraph reported.
Western leaders have been trying to stop the fighting for weeks, with US President Joe Biden saying he fears it would lead to “all-out war”.
The UK today joined the US, France and a host of allies to call for an immediate temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The 12-strong bloc has called for a 21-day ceasefire “to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement”, as well as a ceasefire in Gaza.
A statement said: “The situation between Lebanon and Israel since October 8th, 2023 is intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation. This is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon.
“It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety.
“Diplomacy however cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict.”
The statement calls for the governments of Lebanon and Israel to “endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately… and to give a real chance to a diplomatic settlement”.
Overnight, Lebanon said at least 23 Syrians, most of them women and children, were killed when Israel hit a three-story building in the country.
Another 13 people were also killed and 11 injured in other airstrikes with Israel saying it hit 75 Hezbollah targets in the country.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has given the green light to pursue a deal but only if Israeli civilians can return to their home in the north of the country, the Times of Israel reports.
Brits may need to be evacuated by helicopter if Israel does invade
Around 80,000 Israelis have fled the area after regularly being bombarded by Hezbollah’s rockets following the October 7 terror attack.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that any deal could include a ceasefire in Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the strip but not invading Lebanon.
Hezbollah troops would also have to withdraw from the southern Lebanese border, the report claims.
Latest UK government estimates are that there are between 4-6,000 Brits and dependants still in Lebanon.
Sir Keir Starmer last night paved the way for troops to launch an evacuation mission if commercial flights stop.
At the United Nations yesterday he called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Pressed last night on the escalating conflict, the PM said: “I’m not going to get into the details of evacuation plans.
“As you would expect, we put contingency measures in place. But here in New York, in the UN General Assembly, I’m being very, very clear this is a dangerous situation now and all parties need to pull back from the brink, to de-escalate.
EPAIsrael has also hit homes in the Lebanese capital Beirut[/caption]
GettySir Keir Starmer has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah[/caption]
“We need a ceasefire and this needs to be sorted out by diplomatic means. Very, very clear messaging on that, very firm messaging on that along with key allies.
“But I am very concerned about the increasing escalation which is not just day on day, but almost hour on hour at the moment.”
On Monday, Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in a generation after almost 500 people were killed in airstrikes.
Israel has vowed to do “whatever is necessary” to eliminate Hezbollah from its northern border – sparking some of the heaviest cross-border exchanges of fire since hostilities flared last October.
The IDF said its mission is to “dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure”.
One expert told The Sun Israel could turn southern Lebanon into a “death zone” as the IDF violently removed Hezbollah from the border.
Since Hamas’ shocking attack almost a year ago on October 7, Iran-backed Hezbollah has been firing at Israel in solidarity with the terror proxy.
Israel claims Hezbollah has been hiding many of their rockets in civilian homes and using the local populations as human shields.
Tensions have spiralled in recent weeks – stoking fears the Middle East could be on the brink of an all-out war.
The decision to prepare its troops reportedly came just hours after a Hezbollah-fired missile reached central Israel for the first time.
Hezbollah said it had targeted Israel’s Mossad spy agency on the outskirts of Tel Aviv in the farthest attack inside Israel to date.
The White House labelled the reports of the rocket attack as “deeply concerning”.
The IDF claims to have then quickly blown up the launcher the rocket was sent from – releasing black-and-white airstrike footage of the swift retaliation.
Pager and walkie-talkie strike
The spike in fighting follows the coordinated pager and walkie-talkie blitz last week with Israel sabotaging communications devices.
The attacks were aimed at Hezbollah and hit the terror group’s fighters and civilians in Lebanon and Syria.
The strikes, which hit Tuesday and Wednesday last week, killed at least 39 and left thousands more injured.
Doctors in Lebanon have been overwhelmed by casualties after two waves of blasts – with many left blinded.
Skilled physicians say they have never had to surgically remove more eyes before as Hezbollah’s boss labelled the strikes a possible “declaration of war” from Israel.
One of those injured was the Iranian envoy to the country who has reportedly lost an eye.
Hezbollah’s boss Hassan Nasrallah said the group intends to seek revenge for the attacks that “crossed over all the red lines” and will not stop until the war in Gaza ends.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said he “condemned the terrorist act of the Zionist regime… as an example of mass murder”.
Israel reportedly planted the explosives inside the pagers in a years’ long operation that involved firms in Taiwan and Hungary.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has ordered all members to stop using any types of communication devices, Reuters reports.
ReutersThe IDF bombed 75 targets overnight, it said[/caption]
APEmergency workers arrive at the scene of an Israeli airstrike north of Beirut[/caption]
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