Middle East is on the brink of ‘all-out war’, Biden warns: Israel prepares for a ground assault of Lebanon to pound Hezbollah with ‘blows it could never imagine’ as Britain scrambles more forces to save 10,000 stranded Brits

Joe Biden warned the Middle East is now on the brink of ‘all-out war’ with Israel preparing to open a second front with a ground invasion of Lebanon.

The president joined pleas for de-escalation from international leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, adding that he thinks the opportunity remains ‘to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region’.

Israel and Hezbollah’s burgeoning conflict took a dramatic turn overnight as army chief Herzi Halevi told troops to ‘prepare’ themselves to strike into Lebanon behind the salvoes of rockets continuing to pound Hezbollah strongpoints.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hezbollah is being hit harder ‘with blows it never imagined’ as he vowed to ensure the thousands of Israelis evacuated from the northern border would soon be able to return to their homes and jobs.

But with more than 90,000 people newly displaced across Lebanon, pressure fell on Britain’s Keir Starmer to ensure the safety of nationals caught in the crossfire. As many as 10,000 are stranded as Britain scrambles contingency plans for emergency evacuations.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike near the village of Khiam, Lebanon, Sept 25

The president joined pleas for de-escalation at the UN General Assembly in New York

Emergency workers at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in Maisara, Lebanon on Wednesday

Major General Herzi Halevi (left) visits troops on the northern border on Wednesday

Vehicles wait in traffic in the town of Damour, south of Beirut as people flee southern Lebanon

Lebanese people, fleeing southern Lebanon, walk with their belongings along the Damour highway towards Beirut amid a mass exodus of displaced people seeking shelter

Israeli troops gather at the site of a rocket attack on Sa’ar settlement on Wednesday

Heavy clashes along Lebanon’s southern border continued for a third day as international onlookers urged de-escalation and restraint.

Israeli jets carried out extensive strikes in the south of Lebanon, with NASA reporting huge fires growing throughout the region.

Exchanges of rockets between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been ongoing since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7.

But the most clear admission of escalation came on Wednesday as Israeli Major General Halevi told troops on the northern border: ‘Your boots will enter enemy territory.’

He said the punishing airstrikes this week were designed to ‘prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.’ 

The Israeli military has said in recent days it had no immediate plans for a ground invasion, but Halevi’s comments were the strongest yet suggesting troops could move in. 

Israel said Wednesday it would activate two reserve brigades for missions in the north – another sign that Israel plans tougher action. 

‘This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,’ it said in a statement.

Tensions ratcheted up as Hezbollah targeted Tel Aviv with missiles, reportedly for the first time in the group’s history.

Hezbollah claimed the rockets were aimed at Mossad’s headquarters, but Israel said they were heading for ‘civilian areas’.

Mediators have scrambled to find a way to stop the conflict from spilling over into a much larger war amid fears Iran and its other proxies could be dragged in.

Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss new ceasefire proposals.

Macron had earlier told the UN that there ‘must not be war in Lebanon’, adding that he would send his foreign minister to the former French administration by the end of the week.

France pressed the UN security council to hold an emergency session on the matter soon.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also urged Israel and Hezbollah to step back, saying all-out war would be disastrous for the region and its people. 

Netanyahu’s spokesperson David Mencer said that while ‘we favour a diplomatic solution… we have tried… for eleven and a half months’.

‘Yesterday our president described the US diplomat [involved in negotiations] as talented but with all his talent he hasn’t been able to negotiate any sort of climbdown from Hezbollah,’ he said.

Israeli attacks into Lebanon have killed more than 600 people to date, according to the latest figures by the Lebanese health ministry, separate from Hezbollah.

This figure includes scores of women and children.

The ministry said that at least 72 people were killed in strikes and 400 injured on Wednesday alone. 

Lebanon is still reeling from an attack that saw the detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie talkies used by Hezbollah last week, reportedly also killing children. Israel has denied involvement.

Around 3,000 people were said to have been injured in the attacks, with 37 killed. 

Hezbollah, formed in 1982 ostensibly to fight Israeli aggression and the occupation of southern Lebanon, has stepped up its rocket attacks into Israel, with leader Hassan Nasrallah insisting the group is prepared to match Israel’s force.

‘This could be called a declaration of war,’ Nasrallah said in a televised address after devices exploded last week, adding that Hezbollah was not agitating for escalation.

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Tyre

Planes work to extinguish fires set by Hezbollah rocket barrages in northern Israel, Sep 25

Yemeni university staff and students burn an Israeli flag during a protest staged against the Israeli aerial attacks on Lebanon, on September 25

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in the southern village of Kfar in southern Lebanon

People stand by an impact crater next to a destroyed warehouse at the site of an Israeli air strike in Jiyeh along the highway linking Beirut to the southern city of Sidon on September 25

A handout image released by the Hezbollah military media press office on September 25, 2024, shows a ‘Qader 1’ ballistic missile. Hezbollah said today it had targeted Mossad’s HQ

With the threat of war looming over Lebanon, British nationals have urged to flee as soon as possible.

Keir Starmer told British nationals in Lebanon on Wednesday ‘don’t wait’ for contingency plans to swing into action.

‘Leave now. It’s very important. The situation is escalating,’ he told citizens via the BBC.

‘We are ramping up the contingency plans for an evacuation as you would expect, but my message is, ‘don’t wait for that’.

‘There are commercial flights still coming out. It is important to leave and to leave now.’

Britain’s Ministry of Defence is ramping up contingency plans for a desperate evacuation of UK citizens from Lebanon, with a 700-strong force of Royal Marine commandos, sailors and combat ­engineers being rushed to the region.

The MoD’s rescue mission template, known in military circles as ‘Operation Meteoric’, could see commandos making beach landings in Lebanon with UK citizens escorted on to a flotilla of military vessels.

Such plans would also see warships and RAF jets already stationed in Cyprus tasked with facilitating the rescue mission, with thousands of Brits still stuck in the country. 

Some have reported that their families have not received a response from the British consulate as flights out of Beirut are cancelled amid the ongoing Israeli airstrikes.

Chloe Lewin, a 24-year-old freelance journalist from London, told the BBC that she was among others who could not feasibly leave as flights are already fully booked.

‘Keir Starmer’s telling everyone to get out but we can’t. You can’t get out this week because they’re [flights] all full and every time you get to the last page of the booking, it just crashes and it says you can’t book a flight,’ she said.

‘And then people I know who have had flights, they’re all getting cancelled. My friends were meant to leave this morning on Egyptair – that got cancelled, so they can’t get out.’

Comedian Dom Joly revealed his son was among those now desperately trying to get out, having moved to Beirut for a summer internship.

‘He was totally relaxed in Beirut – having grown up there I kind of get it,’ he told The UK Tonight With Sarah Jane Mee.

Joly said his son ‘didn’t feel particularly in fear’ but was getting ‘more and more panicked’ by the recent escalation before leaving to Cyprus on Sunday. 

Border Force officers are now being deployed to assist in getting British nationals safely out of Lebanon, with some reportedly already operating in the country.

A larger team are said to be on a 24 hour notice ready to fly to the Middle East should tensions swell to the point of a mass evacuation.

Officers will have to ensure that passports, travel documents and visas are checked before those fleeing Lebanon are able to return to the UK.

And the Foreign Office announced Britain would be sending £5 million in humanitarian aid to help the people of Lebanon, to be distributed by UNICEF. 

Traffic jams continue to stall movement out of targeted zones in the south, with many thousands of people trying to reach shelters hastily set up in Beirut.

Beirut has not been exempted from the strikes, with the IDF reporting this week that it had targeted Hezbollah commanders in the capital.

For some, there is nowhere else to go. Many thousands of Syrian refugees, who fled to Lebanon to escape the devastating civil war in their home country, have found themselves with ‘nowhere to go’.

At least 56 refugees from Syria have been counted among those killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, according to the Access Center for Human Rights.

Eight remain missing. 

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike on Wednesday

A fire burns in northern Israeli after Hezbollah fired rockets across the border on Wednesday

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Lebanon’s city of Baalbeck

Pelicans fly as the Israeli Iron Dome intercepts a barrage of Hezbollah rockets on Wednesday

A huge blast is seen near a residential building in southern Lebanon 

People inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike that hit the seaside town of Jiyeh

Iran’s foreign minister meanwhile warned that the Middle East faces a full scale ‘catastrophe’ if the clashes continue to gather pace. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said late Wednesday that Iran would ‘stand with the people of Lebanon with all means’ if required.

Hezbollah is considered a proxy group for Iran, receiving significant military and financial support.

He also urged that UNSC to ‘intervene to restore peace and security’. 

Israel meanwhile finds itself under growing pressure to ensure the 60,000 people displaced from the northern border with Lebanon can return home to their jobs.

To allow displaced Israelis to return to their homes, ‘we are preparing the process of a manouevre,’ Halevi told troops. 

He added: ‘The goal is very clear – to safely return the residents of the north,’ 

Hezbollah’s retaliation to the war in Gaza has forced thousands to leave behind their livelihoods and live out of shelters.

Last week, top level officials cast doubt on whether a ceasefire with Hamas could achieved before the US election.

Antony Blinken has said Israel and Hamas representatives had already agreed to ’90 per cent’ of a proposed deal, and the Pentagon assured last Thursday: ‘I can tell you that we do not believe that deal is falling apart.’