Several Britons took to social media in recent days to declare they or members of their family have not received any response from the British consulate as flights out of Beirut are cancelled
LISTEN: David Lammy on Hezbollah and Putin on this week's episode of. Are you a British citizen stuck in Lebanon? Email [email protected] trapped in Lebanon have claimed they are unable to leave even as Sir Keir Starmer urged UK residents to flee the country yesterday amid Israel 's bombardment of Hezbollah and fears of an impending ground war.
Israel's round-the-clock strikes have already killed at least 560 people and wounded more than 1,800 since Monday morning. 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.
Read More How Israel could wage all-out war with Hezbollah: The options now available to the IDF from stepping up bombing raids and creating a 'buffer zone' to a full-scale invasion of Lebanon The operation would be 'green-lit' should routes out of the war-torn country, such as international air corridors, be closed down.
Thousands of Lebanese citizens have already fled across the border to Syria since the Israeli bombardment began in earnest on Monday, a United Nations refugee agency official said this morning. Podcast All episodes Play on Apple Spotify A forklift removes a damaged car as Lebanese army and emergency workers gather at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's suburbs, on Tuesday
But now fears are growing that the IDF could launch an armed incursion across the border in an attempt to create a 'buffer zone' by forcing Hezbollah fighters further north of the border. The mouth of the Litani River, often used as a rough marker to illustrate a theoretical buffer zone, is 18 miles from the border, but in some places comes within two miles of Israeli-controlled territory.
Hezbollah's fighting force, which measures between 25,000 and 50,000 according to various Israeli and US estimates, has honed its tactics through decades of conflict - including their successful resistance against Israeli forces during the 2006 war in which Major Giat fought. 'I think it can take a few weeks because it's going to be very, very intensive. And also there will be huge pressure inside Lebanon on Hezbollah to stop... I would assume that the war is not going to be long.'
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