UK commandos ‘ready to airlift Brits out of Lebanon’ as Israeli troops ‘poised to pour over border’ after Beirut strikes

BRITISH commandos are connected standby acceptable to airlift civilians from Lebanon if ratcheting tensions betwixt Israel and Hezbollah escalate to full-blown war.

The military has been placed connected precocious alert to motorboat an exigency evacuation with 2 ships besides connected standby successful the region.

A defence root told The Telegraph the British authorities "stands prepared" to propulsion Brits to information if the concern explodes.

Foreign caput David Lammy outlined the preparations successful an exigency Cobra meeting.

He yesterday warned Brits surviving successful Lebanon to permission immediately portion "commercial options remain".

Officials are besides readying to rent craft which could beryllium utilized to transportation retired the exigency plans.

The Foreign Office has advised against each question to the state since October past twelvemonth - erstwhile warfare betwixt Hamas and Israel exploded successful Gaza.

In the twelvemonth since, struggle betwixt Israel and Hezbollah - Hamas' Iran-backed state successful Lebanon - has spiralled, culminating successful monolithic airstrikes and unprecedented deadly cyber attacks this week.

Now the Israeli subject is poised to invade Lebanon - with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing for all-out war.

Some British nationals successful Lebanon person decided to stay determination - including an unnamed foundation idiosyncratic who said helium felt helium could not wantonness his colleagues.

He said: "I felt it would someway beryllium incorrect to chopped and tally astatine the archetypal infinitesimal erstwhile things spell wrong."

Several planetary airlines including Delta, AirFrance and Lufthansa person axed flights to Beirut amid the chaos.

Israel launched a double-tap hack successful Lebanon, detonating Hezbollah pagers, walkie-talkies and different physics devices earlier this week.

Some 37 radical were killed and 3,600 injured successful the fatal explosions, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

On Thursday the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) unleashed airstrikes implicit Lebanon itself, earlier Hezbollah launched astatine slightest 140 rockets backmost successful a revenge onslaught connected Friday.

The IDF responded with much strikes connected Beirut, sidesplitting astatine slightest 9 and wounding 60 much - and taking out Hezbollah second-in-command Ibrahim Aqil successful the process.

Some 10 different elder chiefs from the panic radical were killed alongside Aqil, Israel said.

Israel and Hezbollah person been exchanging fire across the borderline astir regular successful parallel with the warfare successful Gaza.

Hezbollah has reportedly killed 26 civilians and 20 soldiers and forced different 80,000 Israelis to caput southbound to flight the blitz.

Netanyahu vowed connected Wednesday to instrumentality the evacuated Israelis "securely to their homes".

The UN has antecedently said implicit 90,000 radical successful Lebanon person been forced from their homes, with immoderate 100 civilians killed by Israeli strikes.

The US, UK, UN and different Western state person urged calm and restraint from each parties amid fears of an all-out war.

Hezbollah, an state of panic radical Hamas, has said it is attacking Israel successful enactment of them and won't halt until the warfare successful Gaza ends.

Israel has vowed to proceed warring successful the Strip until Hamas is destroyed and its hostages are returned home.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The Foreign Secretary has chaired a gathering of Cobra this greeting connected the latest concern successful Lebanon and to sermon ongoing preparedness work, with the hazard of escalation remaining high.

“The information of British nationals is our fig 1 precedence which is wherefore we’re continuing to counsel radical to permission Lebanon present portion commercialized routes stay available.”

The US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Jordan, and Turkey person besides warned their citizens to permission Lebanon arsenic soon arsenic possible.