Lebanon-Israel live: Hezbollah fires missile at Tel Aviv as Brits told leave Lebanon

A strike on Wednesday hit the Lebanese Shi’ite town of Maaysrah, state media and a resident there said, referring to a place in the mountains of the Christian-majority Keserwan region.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but it was the first time the area was struck in recent hostilities between the Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Killing valuable members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah will not bring it to its knees, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, as cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah increase fears of all-out war in the Middle East.

In a message on X, formerly Twitter, he added: “Hezbollah is the victor.”

The Israeli military has announced it is firing rockets across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa valley that runs along the border with Syria.

The military posted on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “The [Israeli military] attacks widely in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, more details below.”

An Israeli military spokesperson added that they had launched “extensive strikes”.

The UK is sending around 700 troops to Cyprus in case an emergency evacuation of Lebanon is required, as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate.

Britons have been urged to leave Lebanon but with airlines suspending flights to the country because of the violence, commercial escape routes could be cut off as the situation deteriorates.

The deployment to Cyprus comes as the government begins the first stage of its contingency plan, with the military team supported by Border Force and Foreign Office officials.

Sir Keir Starmer has called for de-escalation in the Middle East as Israel ramps up its strikes on Lebanon.

“I have long supported Israel’s right to self-defence and that has been absolutely clear and consistent with everything I’ve ever said,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“But the point we’re at now is very close to the bone and that’s why we need to de-escalate.

“It doesn’t mean we walk away from the problems, it doesn’t mean we don’t recognise the threat that Israel is under, which is very real, but this escalation is getting to a point where the right thing now to do is to de-escalate, have a ceasefire and make sure we can progress in a different way.”

The Israeli military has said its fighter jets intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that crossed from Syria.

“The UAV was intercepted … south of the Sea of Galilee. No damage or injuries were reported,” it said.

The foreign secretary David Lammy and the defence secretary John Healey have been calling for British citizens to leave Lebanon for days, with commercial flight operators cancelling flights and options for people to make their own way out narrowing.

Those warnings have now been repeated by the prime minister, with Israel intensifying its strikes across Lebanon, as it aims to hit Hezbollah. More than 560 people have now died around the country, with around 2,000 injured, heightening fears of an all-out war.

Although commercial flights are still operating for now, there are concerns that Israel could bomb the international airport in Beirut – or the roads to it – like it did in the 2006 war against Hezbollah, which could cut off British citizens from their only means of escape.

Ministers have been preparing for a possible evacuation of the up to 10,000 Britons in Lebanon, with 700 troops being deployed to Cyprus to ensure they are ready if an emergency airlift is needed. Moving at this speed – and making it clear to the public what is happening – has likely been informed of the chaotic scenes during the UK troop withdrawal/evacuation from Kabul when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.

The scenes of people trying to claim onto the wheels of planes while thousands rushed to cram up against fences to plead for help will be seared into the minds of the government, they will not want a repeat.

While such an evacuation is unlikely to be imminent, ministers will know the situation can change quickly. There would be an obvious preference to conduct any emergency evacuation via military planes – as it would be fastest. But UK forces may end up needing to rely on Royal Navy ships waiting in the area, depending on how the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah progress.

Sir Keir Starmer has urged Britons still in Lebanon to “leave immediately” as Israel intensifies its strikes against Hezbollah.

Speaking on a flight to the United Nations HQ in New York, Sir Keir said: “The most important message from me to British nationals in Lebanon is to leave immediately. It is important that we’ve been really, really clear: now is the time to leave.”

Sir Keir Starmer rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of the UK government’s decision to suspend some arms export licences to Israel amid concerns of violation of humanitarian law.

The Israeli prime minister called the decision “misguided” after the new Labour government suspended about 30 out of a total of 350 arms export licences to Israel.

The licences were suspended after a UK assessment suggested they could be used to breach international rules.

Sir Keir told LBC ahead of his UN General Assembly speech that Israel was an “important ally” but said Britain had to comply with international rules.

“I have long supported Israel’s right to self-defence and that has been absolutely clear and consistent with everything I’ve ever said,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“But the point we’re at now is very close to the bone and that’s why we need to de-escalate”.

“It doesn’t mean we walk away from the problems, it doesn’t mean we don’t recognise the threat that Israel is under, which is very real, but this escalation is getting to a point where the right thing now to do is to de-escalate, have a ceasefire and make sure we can progress in a different way.”