ALL-OUT WAR
Israel launches ‘precise strike on Hezbollah stronghold’ in Beirut hours after 8 IDF soldiers killed in ‘ambush’
Hezbollah clashed with Israeli troops near the border
ISRAEL has launched a "precision strike" on a reported Hezbollah stronghold" in Beirut.
At least three loud explosions were reportedly heard in the Lebanese capital on Wednesday night.
16
16
16
Israel is reportedly hitting the Hezbollah bastion of Dahieh, a suburb south of Beirut, according to Israeli and Lebanese outlets.
The strike hit within Beirut's city limits, not far from downtown.
"The IDF conducted a precise strike in Beirut," the IDF said in a statement.
Six people were killed in the Israeli air strike, according to the Lebanese health ministry said.
READ MORE ON ISRAEL
It said two people died immediately after the strike and three later succumbed to their injuries.
The ministry added that eight people are injured and being treated in hospital.
The IDF has since ordered urgent evacuations in Beirut.
Anyone in three different neighbourhoods in the city's southern suburbs who are close to particular structures should leave at once.
Most read in The Sun
The IDF's Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said: "You are located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, which the IDF will work against in the near future.
"For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate this building and the neighbouring buildings immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 metres."
Nick Parker hears of 'incredibly lucky escape' as he visits Tel Aviv suburb shattered by Iranian missiles
It comes after least eight Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon earlier on Wednesday.
Their deaths are the first confirmed since Israeli troops and tanks poured over the border earlier this week for a much-anticipated showdown with the Iran-back terror proxy.
Five members of the Egoz commando unit were killed during a fierce gun battle with Hezbollah terrorists in a southern Lebanon village.
They have been named as Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, Cpt. Harel Etinger, 23, Sgt. First Class Noam Barzilay, 22, Sgt. First Class Or Mantzur, 21, Sgt. First Class Nazar Itkin, 21, and Captain Itai Ariel Giat.
A further four soldiers and an officer were seriously hurt in the same incident.
Meanwhile, Staff Sgt. Almken Terefe and Staff Sgt. Ido Broyer, both 21 and of the Golani Brigade's reconnaissance unit, were killed in a separate ambush.
The Israel Defense Force wrote on X: "May their memories forever be a blessing."
It comes as Israel's invasion of Lebanon to take out threatening Hezbollah posts rages on despite Iran's missile barrage last night.
The first footage of Israeli soldiers inside Lebanon has emerged as troops look to eliminate Hezbollah posts in the south.
Today, the first plane evacuating Brits has left Beirut as civilians scramble to flee the warzone in Lebanon.
16
16
16
16
16
16
The chartered flight landed in Birmingham shortly before 8.40pm on Tuesday.
It departed from Beirut and stopped off in Bucharest in Romania on its journey.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said earlier today: "We have arranged another flight for tomorrow, and further flights over the coming days for as long as there is demand and it is safe to do so."
The US State Department also said today it organised a flight out of Beirut today to allow Americans to escape the ongoing conflict.
The Middle East now appears a step closer to all-out war as Israel has deployed more troops into Lebanon today.
According to Lebanon's health ministry, 46 people were killed in strikes over the last day, with another 85 injured.
The ministry said the deaths were the consequence of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, Nabatieh, Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel, and Mount Lebanon.
The caretaker prime minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati has demanded an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, claiming that Israeli attacks had forced almost 1.2 million people from their homes.
He said: "Anyone who cares about Lebanon, I say we have to have our ceasefire. We don't need more blood. We don't need more destruction.
"Why is Israel not accepting a ceasefire today? They are looking for war, we are looking for a diplomatic solution. They are choosing the lose-lose option."
Mr Mikati added that the "most important thing" was to provide shelter and food for displaced families across the country.
Israel's military confirmed infantry and armoured units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon.
The focus of the operation is clearing out Hezbollah terror sites to halt rocket attacks which have driven 60,000 from homes in Northern Israel in the last 11 months, Israeli sources said.
It claimed actions there would remain "limited and localised".
But the addition of infantry and armoured troops could suggest the operation has moved beyond limited commando raids.
Hezbollah's media boss Mohammad Afif warned the group was "only in the first round" of fighting, however.
The terror group has been firing rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas since the October 7 atrocity last year.
But tensions have boiled over in recent weeks - with Israeli airstrikes into Lebanon killing more than 1,000 people.
The IDF has warned civilians in more than 50 villages in south Lebanon to evacuate.
It comes as...
- Israel 'preparing to blast Iran's oil fields' in revenge
- UK helped fend off 181 Iran missile blitz with Typhoon jets
- Middle East on brick of all-out war as Israel vows retaliation
- At least six people shot dead in ‘terror attack’ in Israeli city Tel Aviv
- Elite IDF paratroopers & commando units launch ground invasion of Lebanon
- Israel vows to 'crush Hezbollah' after launching 'Northern Arrows' invasion
- Israel declares no-go zone for Lebanese civilians south of the Litani River
- UK Government charters emergency flight out of Lebanon for fleeing Brits
I was sitting eating a pizza – moments later I was running for my life
by Nick Parker, Foreign Editor, in northern Israel
I’D just ordered a coffee in a roadside cafe on my way back from Israel’s northern war zone when the alert flashed up on my phone.
It read: “Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel. Please take cover as soon as possible.”
I was sitting in a pizza restaurant in a much-rocketed area north of the coastal port of Haifa when the warning pinged in my pocket.
Moments later I saw other diners picking up their phones as warnings reached them but was impressed by their stoicism as they carried on munching on their margaritas.
These were people who have endured daily rocket attacks from Hezbollah for nearly a year but even they began to shuffle in their seats as more warnings appeared on their mobile security apps.
This was clearly something much bigger than the daily Hezbollah barrage from the north.
And moments later we were jammed in the door as it was confirmed that more than a hundred Iranian ballistic missiles flying at 14 times the speed of sound were on their way.
This was confirmed to be only the first of several waves of attacks heading out way.
We ran across the road into a concrete shelter where English speakers told me to expect to be stuck there for some time as I tapped out my story using the glow of my laptop screen.
Then moments later the first booms split the air high above as Iron Dome interceptors engaged the incoming rockets.
I - probably very foolishly - took a sneak peek into the sky outside and watched trails of red rockets racing up to meet the missiles in a spectacular but potentially deadly firework display.
But scary spectaculars like this have become a way of life for the people of northern Israel - who clearly trust the boffins whose rocket wizardry had saved their lives yet again.
It remained unclear whether Iran’s terror masters had inflicted death or destruction as they attempted to decimate their hated enemy.
And this may be just the first of many terrifying tests for the people of Israel, their enemies and the millions caught in the crossfire as the threat of a catastrophic war looms.
16
16
16
16
Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for tens of thousands of its citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return.
Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza with Hamas.
Fighting has continued despite Iran's 181 missile salvo into Israel.
Western experts discounted Iran's claims 90 per cent hit targets and analysts branded the blitz another embarrassing flop and a 320 missile and drone attack in April was also repelled.
But furious Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned the terrorist state had made a "big mistake".
He warned: "There is also a deliberate and murderous hand behind this attack - it comes from Tehran.
"We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us - we will attack him."
Israel is now planning a major response to last night's unprecedented Iranian missile attack - likely to hit Iranian oil plants and air defence system.
The White House is meanwhile trying to get in line with its counterparts in the Netanyahu administration over possible responses to the Iranian strike on Israel.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
US Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell called the Middle East's current state "a moment of peril" and stressed the importance of open lines of communication between the US and Israel.
He said: "I think we recognise as important as a response of some kind should be, there is a recognition that the region is really on a knife's edge, and real concerns about an even broader escalation or a continuing one."
16
16
16
Topics