Defence secretary leaves Labour conference early to chair emergency COBRA meeting
The British defence secretary is returning to London to chair a COBRA meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Sky News understands.
John Healey has left the Labour conference early in the light of escalating tensions in the region.
COBRA meetings are held in response to national crises or major overseas events with implications for the UK.
Thousands of Britons have been advised to leave Lebanon by commercial means while they still can.
Israel vows to accelerate attacks
Israel’s military chief has vowed to accelerate attacks on Lebanon.
Hezbollah must not be given a break, chief of general staff Herzi Halevi says.
“The situation requires continued, intense action in all arenas.”
Hezbollah claims Israel airdropping leaflets with ‘very dangerous’ barcode
Israel is dropping leaflets with a “very dangerous” barcode on them over Lebanon, says Hezbollah’s media office.
Scanning the leaflets, which are falling in the eastern Bekaa Valley, would “withdraw all information” from any phone, it said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Hezbollah’s media office did not say if anything else was written on the flyers.
Lebanese hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by wounded
A World Health Organisation official in Lebanon has said some hospitals are “overwhelmed” by thousands of wounded people arriving.
Abdinasir Abubakar added: “We have some evidence, and we have some documentation that shows that at least there were some attacks on health facilities, even the ambulances as well.”
Israel denies it targets civilians and says it has taken steps to avoid them.
Evacuations to continue
More people are expected to flee their homes, according to the UN refugee agency’s spokesman.
“We’re looking at tens of thousands, but we expect that those figures will start to rise,” Matthew Saltmarsh said.
“The situation is extremely alarming. It’s very chaotic, and we are doing what we can to support the government.”
UN human rights chief Volker Turk raised “serious concerns” about whether Israel’s methods of warfare were compliant with international humanitarian law.
His spokeswoman dismissed texts ascribed to Israel that told civilians to evacuate parts of southern Lebanon.
“Whether you’ve sent out a warning, you’re telling civilians to flee, doesn’t make it okay to then strike those areas, knowing full well that the impact on civilians will be huge,” said Ravina Shamdasani.
Footage shows some of the strikes on Lebanon published by the IDF.
Number killed in Lebanon rises to 558
The number of people killed by Israeli strikes on Lebanon this week has risen to 558, the Lebanese health minister says.
Some 50 children and 94 women are among the dead, according to Firass Abiad.
Lebanese officials had last counted 492 deaths, yesterday.
The number of people wounded has risen from 1,645 to 1,835, Mr Abiad added.
He said four paramedics were killed, and 16 paramedics and firefighters were wounded.
In Lebanon: ‘Insane’ 24 hours as huge wave of population flees bombs
Airstrikes landed on either side of jammed traffic as residents desperately tried to flee the south yesterday, says special correspondent Alex Crawford, from Tyre, southern Lebanon.
She saw one explosion just 200m from the Sky News team, as hundreds of cars crawled in a 12-hour traffic jam to escape.
“There’s a great deal of fear. Yesterday was an absolutely insane, extraordinary day for the people of Lebanon, with tens of thousands, literally, a huge wave of the population, moving towards Beirut,” said Crawford.
“Families, grandparents, all their possessions, packed on top of their cars, or just grabbing what little they could in a great bid to get out.”
She said there’s a “huge amount” of anxiety and anger among Lebanese people, some of whom believe Israel intended to force a huge part of the population out of southern Lebanon.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah military posts.
“It seems that the Israeli airstrikes are going to continue today from what we’ve seen so far,” said Crawford, adding there were almost a dozen strikes in the area around Tyre this morning, some of which can be seen below…
At least 75 rockets fired at Israel as Hezbollah in ‘unprecedented phase of confrontation’
Some 75 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel this morning, the Israeli military says.
Buildings were damaged and fires started in the north, with Upper Galilee and the Israeli city of Haifa targeted.
Video circulating on Israeli media showed explosions on a motorway, with drivers pulling over and lying on the ground next to their vehicles.
Two people were treated for minor head injuries after a rocket fell near their car, Galilee Medical Centre said.
Footage of firefighters tackling the aftermath of the blasts can be seen below…
Hezbollah said it targeted several Israeli military targets including an explosives factory, Megiddo airfield near the northern town of Afula, and logistical warehouses at a base in Naftali.
A senior source familiar with Hezbollah thinking said the group was in an unprecedented phase of confrontation and Israel was acting as if it sought to push Hezbollah against the wall.
In pictures: Lebanese citizens flee southern towns
Thousands of Lebanese citizens continue to jam roads leaving southern parts of the country, in what is said to be the biggest exodus since the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The government has ordered schools and universities to close across the country and began preparing shelters for the displaced.
Residents received text messages reading: “If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice”, Lebanese media reported.
Lebanon’s information minister said the messages were coming from “the enemy”.
In Lebanon: Airstrikes increase in tempo as tens of thousands sleep rough
Airstrikes are increasing in tempo once again after a brief lull, reports special correspondent Alex Crawford from Tyre, southern Lebanon.
Within a few minutes, four strikes have hit the area around the city.
The skyline could be seen peppered with plumes of smoke billowing into the skies.
“There are a lot of people who have been displaced, tens of thousands,” said Crawford.
“They are sleeping rough now, sleeping on the beach and on the ground.”
Last night, bangs and sirens could be heard near Ghazieh, a southern town, as Crawford reported in the video below…
Frustrated Iranian president arrives at UN as world leaders bid to prevent all-out war
The presidents, prime ministers and leaders of 193 countries have been invited to meet today to begin the UN’s highest level, yearly gathering of world leaders.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East will be high on the agenda, with Joe Biden expected to address crises in Gaza and Lebanon in his final address as US president to the General Assembly.
But his anticipated calls for peace were preceded by a frustrated Iranian president on his arrival in New York yesterday.
“We do not wish to be the cause of instability in the Middle East as its consequences would be irreversible,” said Masoud Pezeshkian.
“It’s Israel that wants to drag everyone into war and destabilise the region… They are dragging us to a point where we do not wish to go.”
He accused Israel of laying “traps” to lead Iran into a broader conflict.
Asked whether Iran will enter the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, he said: “We will defend any group that is defending its rights and itself.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also in New York, described the situation as nearly a full-fledged war.
He urged world leaders to do all they can to stop it, adding: “Here in New York is the moment to do that.”
Biden administration officials will be speaking to their counterparts on the sidelines of the UN about ideas that they believe could prevent the fighting between Israel and Lebanon from escalating, according to two senior administration officials.
The officials declined to offer any further details, but added other countries were also keen to present ideas to reduce tensions.
International affairs editor Dominic Waghorn put the situation to former US secretary of state John Kerry, who described it as “very disturbing”.
You can watch his interview below…