Israel-Lebanon latest: UK charters flight to get Brits out as Israel begins ground invasion against Hezbollah
Israel says a ‘limited, localised and targeted’ ground operation has started in Lebanon
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The UK has chartered an emergency flight out of Lebanon for Britons caught up in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel as tanks roll into the southern half of the country.
Around 5,000 Britons remain in Lebanon and the government said it is working on “all contingency options” to get them out.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy described the situation in Lebanon as “volatile” and with the “potential to deteriorate quickly”.
Israel’s military says it has begun a “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon, with its troops conducting raids on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure along the border.
Ground forces were being supported by the air force and artillery carrying out “precise strikes”, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Local residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and sound of helicopters and drones overhead.
Israel described its offensive as “limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence” against Hezbollah targets that posed “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel”.
The ground invasion of Lebanon represents a significant escalation of the conflict in a Middle East that threatens to suck in the US and Iran.
Netanyahu warns Iran: ‘Nowhere in Middle East out of Israel’s reach’
Netanyahu warns Iran: ‘Nowhere in the Middle East out of Israel’s reach’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tonight (30 September) warned Iran there is “nowhere Israel cannot reach”. In a video released on Monday, Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran warning that there is “nowhere it wouldn’t go to protect its people.” Speaking from Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister referenced the recent killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and warned the Iranian people the regime didn’t care “a whit about them.” Netanyahu warned: “Iran’s tyrants don’t care about your future.”
Red Sea vessel caught in incident near Houthi-controlled port
Earlier we reported that the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency was investigating an alleged incident with a cargo vessel northwest of Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port.
They have since revealed that the vessel reportedly saw four splashes close by but that all crew were safe and it was proceeding to its next port of call.
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Israel warns Lebanese civilians not ot move vehicles during ‘intense’ fighting
The Israeli military has said that intense fighting with Hezbollah is taking place in southern Lebanon as he warned residents not to move vehicles in the region.
Spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in Arabic on X, formerly Twitter: “Urgent warning to the residents of South Lebanon ...
“Heavy fighting is taking place in southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah elements using the civilian environment and the population as human shields to launch attacks.
“For your personal safety, we ask you not to move vehicles from the northern region to the southern region of the Litani River. This warning is in effect until further notice.”
Here are some of the latest pictures from Lebanon
UKMTO receives report of incident of Yemen’s Hodeidah
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it has received a report of an incident 97 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah, adding that the authorities are investigating.
Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli troops in Metula with artillery fire
Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday that it had targeted Israeli troops across the border in Metula with artillery fire but made no mention of Israel’s announcement that it had begun a ground incursion into Lebanon.
Israel announced overnight that it had begun “limited” raids in the border area of southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu says nowhere in Middle East out of Israel's reach
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iranians on Monday that there was nowhere in the Middle East beyond Israel’s reach, three days after Israel’s military killed the leader of Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Mr Netanyahu, speaking in English in a three-minute-long video released by his office in which he said he was addressing the Iranian people, blamed the Iranian government for plunging the Middle East “deeper into war” at the cost of its own people.
“There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach. There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country,” Mr Netanyahu said.
He said the Iranian government was bringing Iranians “closer to the abyss”. Iran and Israel would be at peace when Iran is “finally free”, which he said would “come a lot sooner than people think”.
Referring to Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah, killed on Friday in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, Mr Netanyahu said that “puppets” of the Iranian “regime” were eliminated every day.
Israel has ramped up attacks on militant targets in Lebanon against Hezbollah, the best armed of militant groups across the Middle East aligned with Iran.
Netanyahu warns Iran: ‘Nowhere in the Middle East out of Israel’s reach’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tonight (30 September) warned Iran there is “nowhere Israel cannot reach”. In a video released on Monday, Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran warning that there is “nowhere it wouldn’t go to protect its people.” Speaking from Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister referenced the recent killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and warned the Iranian people the regime didn’t care “a whit about them.” Netanyahu warned: “Iran’s tyrants don’t care about your future.”
Suspected Yemen Houthi rebel attack targets ship in Red Sea
A suspected attack Tuesday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Red Sea, likely marking their first assault on commercial shipping in weeks as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a regional conflict.
The attack comes as Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon after days of Israeli airstrikes that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top leaders and the earlier explosions of sabotaged electronic devices used by the Shiite militia.
The Houthis had threatened “escalating military operations” targeting Israel on Monday after they apparently shot down a US military drone flying over the country.
The attack Tuesday morning took place some 110km off the port city of Hodeida in the Red Sea, which has become a battlefield for shippers since the Houthis began their campaign targeting ships traveling through a waterway that once saw $1 trillion a year of cargo pass through it.
A captain on a ship saw four “splashes” near his vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a warning.
That likely would have been missiles or drones launched at the vessel.“All crew are safe and the vessel is proceeding to (its) next port of call,” the UKMTO said.The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack.
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