Airstrikes threaten evacuations

IRAN'S CALL TO ARMS AS BRITISH AND U.S. HIT HOUTHI TARGETS

- Chris Hughes

MASSIVE Israeli blasts near Beirut's airport raised fears for Britons trying to flee Lebanon's stricken capital yesterday as Iran's supreme leader issued chilling threats to wage longterm war.

At least one missile slammed into an area just outside Rafic Hariri International Airport's perimeter.

It comes in the middle of evacuations to get Britons and other expats airlifted out of the war-torn country.

However, thousands from the UK are believed to be still there.

More British mercy flights are expected in the coming days and hundreds of Cyprus-based Royal Marines are ready to assist if the situation worsens.

Israel said it killed Hezbollah's communications commander, Mohammed Rashi Sakafi, in a strike in the Beirut area on Thursday.

It says 250 Hezbollah operatives, including 21 commanders, have been killed since ground operations in southern Lebanon began on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, fears of a wider war grew as the US and Britain struck more than a dozen Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen yesterday.

Anniversary

It comes as the Middle East awaits Israel's promised revenge attack for Tuesday's 180-missile barrage by Iran against the Jewish state.

Many think PM Benjamin Netanyahu wants to hit Iran's nuclear sites, believing Israel must strike while Tehran's proxy forces are under attack.