Israel-Lebanon latest: Calls for UK evacuation flights grow as hopes for ceasefire fade and strikes continue
Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under mounting international pressure as he prepares to address the UN General Assembly on Friday
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As Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Lebanon and ceasefire hopes dwindle, British nationals stranded under bombardment are urging the UK government to send evacuation flights.
Despite a directive from the prime minister to “leave immediately” Britons speaking with the media say all commercial flights are sold out and are pleading for safe routes to leave.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says talks for a ceasefire in Lebanon will continue as he prepares to address the UN General Assembly on Friday — with Western leaders pushing for a deal before his speech.
But hopes for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, driven by a US-led initiative, have faded following conflicting statements from Netanyahu. Despite early optimism for a pause in hostilities, Netanyahu’s comments—first supporting then tempering expectations—mirror his previous mixed messaging on Gaza.
The situation deteriorated further on Friday, with Israeli strikes killing a family of nine in a Lebanese border village and exchanges of cross-border missile fire continuing.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer strengthened calls for a temporary ceasefire in his address to the UN last night, with the UK, US and the EU proposing an immediate 21-day pause in fighting “to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement”.
Britain joins US, France and allies in call for 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah
Britons urged to leave Lebanon now – but what are their travel options after most flights cancelled?
Jordan travel: Is it safe to travel right now, and what are your rights if you have a trip booked?
Netanyahu orders Israeli military to fight Hezbollah with full force – despite ceasefire push
Beirut soup kitchen struggles to keep up as Israeli strikes intensify
Chains of volunteers spoon rice and vegetables into meal containers while others stir huge pots of boiling rice, as a soup kitchen in Beirut struggles to keep up with demand from displaced people escaping Israeli strikes.
Josephine Abu Abdo, a chef and one of the founders of Nation Station, said the kitchen is serving 700 meals a day and is at maximum capacity, but she then hears 1,000 meals are needed.
“The challenge is that we can’t keep up. We feel like we are just a drop in the ocean,” Abu Abdo said, while a team of volunteers of different ages from all over Lebanon hurriedly packaged up food.
Nation Station was founded to help victims of the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion, growing from a team of five to a hundred over time. It serves some traditional Lebanese dishes, such as zucchini stuffed with rice and meat, bulgur and tomato, vegetable soup and cabbage salad.
When the Israeli strikes across Lebanon intensified on Monday, forcing around 40,000 into shelters within days, the volunteers cooked more food without any funding, distributing it as an emergency response to the centres housing the displaced.
“We worked from the small savings that we had for the first three days. Then, many people started donating,” Abu Abdo said.
“The donation that we receive will cover us for two or three days. We will see, one day at a time and we will make a decision,” she added.
Over 30,000 crossed into Syria from Lebanon in past days, says UN
More than 30,000 people, mainly Syrians, have crossed into Syria from Lebanon in the past 72 hours, the UN refugee agency said on Friday, amid an escalating conflict between Israeli forces and the heavily armed Hezbollah that has left hundreds dead in Lebanon.
‘Unacceptable’ rise in attacks on health care, says WHO
Lebanon’s World Health Organisation (WHO) representative has slammed the attacks on healthcare facilities as “unacceptable.”
Posting on X, Abdinasir Abubakar said 27 health workers have been killed and 55 injured by recent Israeli strikes, adding that health care sites “should be protected at all times”.
He wrote: “Attack on health care is on the rise as the crisis in Lebanon continued to escalate in recent days.”
Attack on health care is on the rise as the crisis in Lebanon continued to escalate in recent days. 24 attacks on health care were recorded so far, resulting in 27 deaths & 55 injuries for health workers
— Abdinasir Abubakar (@abdinasirgole) September 27, 2024
This is unacceptable trend, & health care should be protected at all times pic.twitter.com/MG1k49PnpT
Family of nine, including pregnant mother, killed in strike
An Israeli strike on Friday killed nine members of a family, including four children and a pregnant mother, in the Lebanese border town of Shebaa, mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters.
Philippines will evacuate its citizens if Israel invades Lebanon
The Philippines says it will evacuate 11,000 citizens from Lebanon the moment Israeli forces cross the border and launch a ground offensive, The Times of Israel has reported.
“A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation,”
Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega reportedly said at a press conference in Manila: “A ground invasion will lead to mandatory repatriation.” He said the plan would be to move thousands out of the country via the sea without providing further details.
More than 33,000 Filipino citizens were living in Lebanon as of January 2020, according to the Philippines‘ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
📣 ADVISORY 📣
— Philippine Embassy in Lebanon (@PHLinLebanon) September 23, 2024
Filipino nationals residing in Lebanon are advised to remain vigilant and stay informed, following recent hostilities in South Lebanon. Please reach out to the Embassy for any concerns.
READ: https://t.co/CIsl5Pub9f
Nearly 700 people killed in Lebanon this week, says health ministry
Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry the Associated Press reports. About a quarter of them are women and children.
On Monday, about 600 people were killed and almost 2,000 injured from Israeli bombing marking the deadliest single day in Lebanon since the country’s civil war.
Israel strike kills nine people in southern Lebanon
An Israeli strike killed nine people from the same family in the southern Lebanese border-town of Shebaa, including four children, on Friday morning mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters news agency.
Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Hezbollah says it fired rockets into Tiberias and Haifa
Hezbollah said it had fired rockets into Israel on Friday at Kiryat Ata near the city of Haifa, around 20 miles from the border, and the city of Tiberias.
The Israeli military said four drones came across the border on Friday and were all intercepted by the military’s defences, adding that several rockets were also intercepted.
In pictures: Aftermath of Israeli attacks in Lebanon
As we’ve been reporting, nearly 700 people have died in Lebanon as a result of Israeli attacks this week, according to local officials.
Here are some pictures from inside the country:
Israeli strike in Syria kills 5 soldiers
An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site near Kfar Yabous, close to the Lebanese border, killed five Syrian soldiers and wounded another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.
Israel’s military has not officially acknowledged the strike, although it regularly targets military positions in Syria, including facilities linked to Iran and Hezbollah. Israel rarely confirms these incidents.
The frequency of such strikes has increased in the past 11 months, coinciding with Hezbollah’s ongoing clashes with Israel’s military, against the backdrop of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
Since the beginning of the week, tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the Lebanon-Syria border due to heavy Israeli bombardment.
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