There were celebratory fireworks set off in parts of the Lebanese capital Beirut as Iran launched volleys of missiles in its most serious attack yet against Israel.
Israel has made plenty of enemies not just in Lebanon but throughout the region.
It can be no coincidence that the attack came on the same day that Israeli troops invaded Lebanon to carry out what they described as “limited operations” against Hezbollah, the militant group allied closely with Iran.
Hezbollah is designated a terror group by the UK, the US and other Western nations.
Image: A rocket in the sky above Tel Aviv. Pic: Reuters
The attack coincided with a previous turbulent 24 hours for the so-called Axis of Resistance, during which Israel bombed a range of groups linked to Iran.
Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen were hit; Iranian-aligned groups in Syria were attacked and Hamas, also supported by Iran, continued being bombarded in Gaza.
All of this is on top of bombarding Iran’s closest and most strategically important partner in the region, the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Looks like Iran judged it needed to flex its muscles
Advertisement
It very much looks like Iran may well have judged it needed to flex its muscles to try to stem Israel’s expanding actions and alleviate the pressure on its most powerful ally Hezbollah.
For two weeks, Hezbollah has been hammered by Israeli forces.
Image: Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb. Pic: AP
The militant group unilaterally embroiled Lebanon in this war by mounting attacks on Israel last October in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Five times as many strikes inside Lebanon than inside Israel
Israel has retaliated by launching about five times as many strikes inside Lebanon, according to figures from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).
Tehran’s representative at the UN posted on X that the strike on Israel was “Iran’s legal, rational and legitimate response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime”. The mission also warned of a “crushing response” if Israel retaliates.
But will it? Israel’s UN envoy immediately promised a “severe response” to the Iranian missile attack. The signs aren’t good – and escalation seems to be the only common language right now.
Even as I am writing, we’ve just heard the boom of an Israeli airstrike landing in the southern city of Tyre. The country will be nervously awaiting potentially much more.
When we moved through Tyre earlier, it seemed unusually quiet and empty. A lot of the shops were closed and the businesses shuttered.
The Israeli military had earlier issued directives to vehicles not to cross from the north to south of the Litani river because of what it described as the security situation.
Lebanese army helping evacuate villages near Israel border
We saw Lebanese army troops positioned around the river urging civilians to leave the area and not venture further south. One soldier told us they were helping out in evacuations of villages close to the Israeli border.
The images of Israeli troops massing on their southern border followed by announcements that troops were carrying out “limited operations” in their country have alarmed residents even more.
An estimated million people have already been displaced, according to Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati.
But in the old city of Tyre, we found some who are refusing to leave.
“I’m not leaving,” Elias Barbour told us. “No matter what they do, we won’t leave. This is my business. Everything we have is here and we’re not going to leave it.”
Image: Elias Barbour has vowed not to leave
Lebanese bury their dead
They’re still holding mass funerals in the village of Ain-el-Delb on the outskirts of Sidon.
We saw another 13 people buried who were killed in the deadliest single Israeli attack in the country in nearly a year.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:59
Mass funerals held for victims in Lebanon
The bombs levelled two residential apartments packed with families, killing 45 including women and children. Some of the families had taken in a few of those who were among the million people who have fled their homes.
The villagers are grief-stricken but they are also angry.
‘Everyone just wants this to end’
Ellen, a 27-year-old masters student who had left her studies in France to join her family, told us: “Everyone just wants this to stop, to end. It’s our land, it’s our home, it’s our people. We just want to live in peace – that’s what we want.
“They should not attack any kilometre of our land. It’s ours.”
Image: Ellen says ‘everyone just wants this to stop’
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
It was followed up with a message from the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian who warned: “This is only a corner of our power. Do not enter into a conflict with Iran.”
A situation that was already dire just seems to have got even more dangerous.
:: Alex Crawford reports with camera Jake Britton, specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Lebanon producers Jihad Jneid and Sami Zein.
We see the boat from a distance – the orange of the life jackets reflected in the rising sun.
And as we draw closer, we can make out dozens of people crowded on board as it sets off from the shore, from a beach near Dunkirk.
Image: .
There is no sign of any police activity on the shore, and there are no police vessels in the water.
Instead, the migrants crammed into an inflatable dinghy are being watched by us, on board a private boat, and the looming figure of the Minck, a French search and rescue ship that soon arrives.
Image: Minck, a French search and rescue ship, shadows the boat
The dinghy meanders. It’s not heading towards Britain but rather hugging the coast.
A few of the passengers wave at us cheerfully, but then the boat starts to head back towards the shore.
As it nears a different beach, we see a police vehicle – a dune buggy – heading down to meet it.
Normal practice is for French police officers to slice through the material of any of these small boats that end up back on shore.
Image: Sky’s Adam Parsons at the scene
Two police officers get out of the buggy and wait. A police helicopter arrives and circles above, performing a tight circle over the heads of the migrants.
The police think they might be about to go back on to the beach; in fact, these passengers know that most of them are staying put.
The boat stops a short distance from the shore and four people jump out. As they wade towards the beach, the boat turns and starts to head back out to sea.
We see the two police officers approach these four men and have a brief conversation.
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
They don’t appear to check the bags they are carrying and, if they do question them about why they left the boat, it is the most cursory of conversations.
In reality, these people probably don’t speak French but they were almost certainly involved in arranging this crossing, which is against the law. But all four walk away, disappearing into the dunes at the back of the beach.
Donald Trump and a leading figure in the Israeli army have suggested a ceasefire in Gaza could be close.
Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), told Israeli media that “conditions were created to advance a deal” to bring about an end to the conflict in the coastal territory, and the release of hostages.
In a televised address, he said: “We have achieved many significant results, we have caused great damage to the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.
“Thanks to the operational power that we have demonstrated, the conditions have been created to advance a deal to release the hostages.”
‘This week, or next’
It comes as the US president hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC on a prolonged visit this week.
Mr Trump said his meetings with Mr Netanyahu were focused “on Gaza for the most part”.
More on Gaza
Related Topics:
He said: “I think we have a chance [of a ceasefire] this week, or next week.”
However, the US leader added: “Not definitely,” saying nothing was certain about the situation in Gaza.
Image: Donald Trump speaks, as Pete Hegseth looks on, during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pic: Reuters
Image: Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a bilateral dinner with Donald Trump this week.
Pic: Reuters
Hamas reiterates ‘keenness’ to end fighting
Meanwhile, Hamas has repeated its message that it is committed to the negotiations but warned of a number of sticking points despite the positive noises from senior Israeli figures.
In a statement, the militant group said: “In its keenness to succeed in the ongoing efforts, the movement [Hamas] has shown the necessary flexibility and agreed to release 10 prisoners.
“The key points remain under negotiation, foremost among them: the flow of aid, the withdrawal of the occupation from the territories of the Gaza Strip, and the provision of real guarantees for a permanent ceasefire.”
Mr Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff previously told a cabinet meeting that the anticipated ceasefire would last 60 days and involve the release of ten hostages and nine bodies.
A source close to the negotiations told Sky News that the hostage release would take place in two waves during the 60 days and was conditional on the ceasefire.
Follow the World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
While the politicians talk, so many people come from around the world to try to get across the Channel on small boats. But why?
Why make such a perilous crossing to try to get to a country that seems to be getting increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?
As the British and French leaders meet, with small boats at the forefront of their agenda, we came to northern France to get some answers.
It is not a new question, but it is peppered with fresh relevance.
Over the course of a morning spent around a migrant camp in Dunkirk, we meet migrantsfrom Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond.
Some are fearful, waving us away; some are happy to talk. Very few are comfortable to be filmed.
All but one man – who says he’s come to the wrong place and actually wants to claim asylum in Paris – are intent on reaching Britain.
They see the calm seas, feel the light winds – perfect conditions for small boat crossings.
John has come here from South Sudan. He tells me he’s now 18 years old. He left his war-torn home nation just before his 16th birthday. He feels that reaching Britain is his destiny.
“England is my dream country,” he says. “It has been my dream since I was at school. It’s the country that colonised us and when I get there, I will feel like I am home.
“In England, they can give me an opportunity to succeed or to do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am an English child, who was born in Africa.”
Image: ‘England is my dream country,’ John tells Adam Parsons
He says he would like to make a career in England, either as a journalist or in human resources, and, like many others we meet, is at pains to insist he will work hard.
The boat crossing is waved away as little more than an inconvenience – a trifle compared with the previous hardships of his journey towards Britain.
We meet a group of men who have all travelled from Gaza, intent on starting new lives in Britain and then bringing their families over to join them.
One man, who left Gaza two years ago, tells me that his son has since been shot in the leg “but there is no hospital for him to go to”.
Next to him, a man called Abdullah says he entered Europe through Greece and stayed there for months on end, but was told the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring over his family.
Britain, he thinks, will be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he says.
Image: Abdullah says ‘Gaza is being destroyed – we need help’
A man from Eritreatells us he is escaping a failing country and has friends in Britain – he plans to become a bicycle courier in either London or Manchester.
He can’t stay in France, he says, because he doesn’t speak French. The English language is presented as a huge draw for many of the people we talk to, just as it had been during similar conversations over the course of many years.
I ask many of these people why they don’t want to stay in France, or another safe European country.
Some repeat that they cannot speak the language and feel ostracised. Another says that he tried, and failed, to get a residency permit in both France and Belgium.
But this is also, clearly, a flawed survey. Last year, five times as many people sought asylum in France as in Britain.
And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without a European-style ID card system, makes itself attractive to migrants who can “disappear”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:48
Migrant Channel crossings hit new record
A young man from Iraq, with absolutely perfect English, comes for a chat. He oozes confidence and a certain amount of mischief.
It has taken him only seven days to get from Iraq to Dunkirk; when I ask how he has made the trip so quickly, he shrugs. “Money talks”.
He looks around him. “Let me tell you – all of these people you see around you will be getting to Britain and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they won’t be paying any tax.
“Back in the day in Britain, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but these days I don’t think they want to, because there’s too many of them coming by boat. Every day it’s about seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”
“But,” I ask, “if those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Aren’t you a problem too?”
He shakes his head emphatically. “I know that I’m a very good guy. And I won’t be a problem. I’ll only stay in Britain for a few years and then I’ll leave again.”
A man from Sri Lanka says he “will feel safe” when he gets to Britain; a tall, smiling man from Ethiopia echoes the sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country so we have come all this way,” he says. “We want to work, to be part of Britain.”
Emmanuel is another from South Sudan – thoughtful and eloquent. He left his country five years ago – “at the start of COVID” – and has not seen his children in all that time. His aim is to start a new life in Britain, and then to bring his family to join him.
He is a trained electrical engineer, but says he could also work as a lorry driver. He is adamant that Britain has a responsibility to the people of its former colony.
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday