‘It’s impossible to get a flight’: Britons tell of scramble to leave Lebanon

Dalia Salaam Rishani: ‘People are paralysed, most of them are trying to scramble out.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

British nationals in Lebanon have described their struggle to leave after several airlines cancelled flights, amid growing fears of an imminent Israeli ground invasion.

Tensions in the Middle East have continued to increase as Israel carried out a new wave of “extensive” strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. The chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, told troops the strikes were “to prepare the ground for your possible entry”, prompting fears the region was on the brink of war.