Live from beirut. We must build a New Britain built from that age old spirit of creativity and enterprise. The Pride And Ambition of working people. Lets start with the breaking lets start with the breaking news in the last Hour News in the last hour that Israeli Military says it has that Israeli Military says it has carried out a what it carried out a what it calls a targeted attack calls a targeted attack on a senior Hezbollah Commander on a senior Hezbollah Commander in the south of beirut. In the south of beirut. The idf says that he was attack the idf says that he was responsible for organising responsible for organising numerous attacks against numerous attacks against israeli Civilians and soldiers. Israeli Civilians and soldiers. These pictures have come from these pictures have come from the Southern Suburbs of beirut. The Southern Suburbs of beirut. You can see the extent of the you can see the extent of the Wreckage And Destruction in the Wreckage And Destruction in the aftermath of a strike. A aftermath of a strike. A reminder that 560 people have reminder that 560 people have been killed since the israeli been killed since the israeli attack started in lebanon, according to the lebanese health ministry, making it the deadliest day since The End of the Civil War in 1990. Israel says that hezbollah must not be given a break and that attacks would be accelerated. There have been more strikes in the bekaah valley. There is gridlock on the road. Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets towards northern israel. In the last half an hour, President Biden has addressed the un for the last time, outlining a plan to prevent further Escalation. The british pound as a code for Restraint And De Escalation at the labour party conference. His Defence Secretary left for a Cobra Meeting in the wake of this latest crisis. We can join Anna Foster in beirut. Bring us up Anna Foster in beirut. Bring us up to date with this senior Hezbollah Commander who has been targeted and, say the israelis, killed in this latest strike.. strike. This, matthew, are the Southern Suburbs strike. This, matthew, are the Southern Suburbs of strike. This, matthew, are the Southern Suburbs of beirut. I strike. This, matthew, are the Southern Suburbs of beirut. A| Southern Suburbs of beirut. A few kilometres from here, not very far at all, i was listening to the sound of sirens as they try to get the wounded to hospital, but the Rush Hour Traffic is so tightly packed, they were banging on casting find a way to get the ambulances through the hospital. Israel described it as a targeted attack. Hospital. Israel described it as a targeted the ick. Hospital. Israel described it as a targeted the key figures that is where the key figures in that organisation are based and as we have seen of the last week or so, israel has focused its attention, as well as on the other parts. You are talking about the bekaah valley, amongst the deepest Areas that we have seen israeli forces targeting here in lebanon, through the duration of this conflict, almost a year old now, this particular war, they say they are targeting members of hezbollah, weapons manufacturing Areas, but again we are hearing about that civilian death toll. We spoke about the number of women and children, around 100 women, 50 children, around 100 women, 50 children, killed since this particularly intense bombardment started yesterday morning. And there are real concerns and fears here about how much further this might escalate. .. escalate. And, given all of that, escalate. And, given all of that. We escalate. And, given all of that, we are escalate. And, given all of that, we are seeing escalate. And, given all of that, we are seeing so escalate. And, given all of l that, we are seeing so many different people leaving the south of lebanon. Tell us more about that in terms of what you have seen, in some of those journeys. Have seen, in some of those Journeye Have seen, in some of those journeys. Well, at the best of times, journeys. Well, at the best of times. Trying journeys. Well, at the best of times, trying to journeys. Well, at the best of times, trying to move journeys. Well, at the best of times, trying to move aroundj times, trying to move around lebanon, it hasn t got a great transport infrastructure, there is no real public transport and only a couple of highways that in normal times can be incredibly congested but what we have seen at the last couple of days is cars queueing, a journey that you take a couple of hours, taking five, six, seven times longer, as people have been packing their belongings into cars. They don t always have anywhere to go. These are people moving from their homes, towns and cities in the south, heading for beirut, but when they get here that was not always somewhere for them to be received. We know that the government here are turning schools into reception centres, but they say they have not managed to get everyone in there yet. They say that the numbers displaced are higher than the numbers of people who have registered that there are centres. Interesting to say that the israel defense force, they have been putting out messaging designed to reach people in lebanon, they say we will remove hezbollah from your area then you can return safely to your homes, but i know that there are people questioning whether those homes will still be standing when they get the chance to go back. Be standing when they get the chance to go back. Anna foster in beirut, chance to go back. Anna foster in beirut, thank chance to go back. Anna foster in beirut, thank you chance to go back. Anna foster in beirut, thank you for chance to go back. Anna foster in beirut, thank you for now. I in beirut, thank you for now. We will talk later on in the programme. We can talk to a former Idf Kernel and director of the international institute for counterterrorism. When there is a universal Core Call to De Escalate, why has israel choosing to escalate this conflict so markedly . Israel is trying to arrive at a situation with hezbollah, where it does not have tends thousands of rockets, it has 150,000, and the different platforms they have been using against israel in the last few months every single day, we are trying to get to a situation where we can tell that almost 70,000 israelis who live Up North near the lebanese border, that they can go home. In the last 11 months they cannot go home, their houses have been bombarded directly with every type of missile you can think of, and in that Sense, what we re trying to do, and it isn t happy or easy, war never is, it is the innocents on all sides, but what is really trying to do is enable a situation where hezbollah is not The One on the initiative, that it not The One on the initiative, thatitis not The One on the initiative, that it is The One in defence, that it is The One in defence, that we are pushing them to a place where they will move out of those Areas. Of those Areas. 560 dead. Do ou of those Areas. 560 dead. Do you share of those Areas. 560 dead. Do you share the of those Areas. 560 dead. Do you share the depth of those Areas. 560 dead. Do you share the depth since you share the depth since minister s view that these tracks have been a masterpiece . Tracks have been a masteriece . ~. ~ masterpiece . When we talk about targeted masterpiece . When we talk about targeted killings, masterpiece . When we talk about targeted killings, it. About targeted killings, it will be a question every time. What do you do with the terrorists that come on purpose, hide themselves in the middle of a civilian area . Because what you are doing as you are turning a civilian area into that safe place. He did not want a safe place for terrace. Israel has not done attack like this for so many years, because of the results. I am not happy about it. There isn tjoy in israel, when we see precision targeting, it is absolutely right, it doesn t look nice, it is not surgical in that Sense. Look nice, it is not surgical in that Sense. Let me ask you about that in that Sense. Let me ask you about that phrase in that Sense. Let me ask you about that phrase you in that Sense. Let me ask you about that phrase you keep. About that phrase you keep using. At least 50 children killed since yesterday. 100 women. Israel keeps using the phrase targeted strikes, it does not sound that targeted. My does not sound that targeted. My heart goes out to every single one of the women and children, the uninvolved. I live here, and in that Sense it is tit for tat, israelis have not been killed, lebanese have been killed, i live in a country that has invested heavily because of these different challenges, in protecting our Civilians, we have Civilians inside Safe Homes were being targeted, Civilians. And we do not have casualties because we build Safe Homes. Safe homes. Back the same tactics used Safe Homes. Back the same tactics used in Safe Homes. Back the same tactics used in gaza, Safe Homes. Back the same tactics used in gaza, going | tactics used in gaza, going after hezbollah, going after hamas, but quite prepared to kill large numbers of Civilians. Kill large numbers of Civilians. ~. Civilians. We are targeting the terrace, never Civilians. We are targeting the terrace, never targeting terrace, never targeting Civilians and the way you present it is that what you re trying to do is kill Civilians go to trying to do is kill Civilians. O t.. trying to do is kill Civilians to t... ~ go to you are killing Civilians, go to you are killing Civilians, despite i go to you are killing. Civilians, despite trying go to you are killing Civilians, despite trying to go after these fighters, you do also have an obligation to protect Civilians. Also have an obligation to protect Civilians. And we do so, protect Civilians. And we do so. Sir protect Civilians. And we do so. Sir we protect Civilians. And we do so, sir. We give protect Civilians. And we do so, sir. We give early protect Civilians. And we do i so, sir. We give early warning. We told them to leave. And you re absolutely right, in The End, Civilians get killed and that hurts, as he put this to end but i don t think that ending it in a way where hezbollah, a Terror Organisation hiding behind Civilians is The One that, right now, gets any kind of backing, not by you in england or the bbc or anywhere. This has been a challenge for so many years and when we do the targeted killing, and you are right, there are Civilians that are killed, and the End Idea is to get to these harsh elements that are bad for the world, battle level, bad for us Civilians. Battle level, bad for us Civilians. ~ ,. Civilians. You keep saying that ou want Civilians. You keep saying that you want to Civilians. You keep saying that you want to end Civilians. You keep saying that you want to end this, Civilians. You keep saying that you want to end this, but i Civilians. You keep saying that you want to end this, but you | you want to end this, but you are escalating the situation, to try to end up De Escalating. That is the sort of Intellectual Somersault that doesn t seem to make Sense. In doesnt seem to make Sense. In the context, israel did not start a war the day before yesterday, we started these targeted attacks extensively, hamas started the war and double seven, and hezbollah, which is deployed in all of the Areas down south in lebanon, they were practising to do the same kind of October 7th attack, so, so, i m going to ask you, what do you want to do against the terrorists . Do you want to allow him to hide behind Civilians . My heart goes out, i will never target a civilian but when the terrorist is there and i tell the people to leave, i give them an early warning, i am doing to leave, i give them an early warning, iam doing my to leave, i give them an early warning, i am doing my best. I understand how greatly how much this news, but. Let understand how greatly how much this news, but. This news, but. Let me ask ou a this news, but. Let me ask you a separate question, i this news, but. Let me ask| you a separate question, you have made the point several times that you are degrading the infrastructure of hezbollah, you are hitting weapons and taking out key figures back do you share the analysis that many military analysts have voiced over the last couple of days, that you cannot win this from the air, and the next stage looks like this is a prelude to a ground invasion. Is that what is coming . Invasion. Is that what is comina .. coming . Sadly, i agree with those military coming . Sadly, i agree with those military analysts, i those military analysts, because at The End of the day, the attack forces on the ground of hezbollah, who still exist in Southern Lebanon, it is the Civilians were fleeing north because they are innocent, and. ~.. and. So you think a Ground War is coming. And. So you think a Ground War is coming. I and. So you think a Ground War is coming. I do and. So you think a Ground War is coming. I do think and. So you think a ground | war is coming. I do think that is a possibility. War is coming. I do think that is a possibility. And war is coming. I do think that is a possibility. And it is a possibility. And it doesnt is a possibility. And it doesnT Matter i is a possibility. And it doesnT Matter that i is a possibility. And it i doesnT Matter that joe is a possibility. And it doesnT Matter that Joe Biden doesn T Matter that Joe Biden yet doesn T Matter thatJoe Biden yet again has spoken about the escalating the situation in the region. They have said that for months and yet we are seeing moves by Benjamin Netanyahu to add more aims, to take these new strikes directly to lebanon, you don t think that is moving in the opposite direction, what the worries of an all out war in the region . I m a civilian officer, not the Prime Minister, i go to protests against the Prime Minister every single week and putting together what you re seeing, is that we are all prime Minister Neto i support the fact that the 70,000 friends i have live Up North who have not been in their houses that are being destroyed by hezbollah in the last 11 months, we need to change the factor. Hezbollah is not doing this to help hamas in the gaza strip, they are attacking it really is because they want to destroy israel, and there is no other way that i know that hezbollah talks, that We Aim to dislodge them, sadly, except for this type of attack. See sadly, if you know how to do it otherwise i would be happy to hear it. They do not respond to diplomacy, they grow stronger with their terror tactics. Thank you forjoining us on bbc news. We have heard from Joe Biden at the United Nations talking about decades of international policy, what the un has delivered over the years, and at the challenges that they currently face, touching upon the situation in the Middle East, so let s bring in a senior Associate Fellow at the royal united Services Institute for defence. Welcome back to the programme. An overalL Assessment first of all, after two days of these intensive israeli Air Strikes intensive israeli Air Strikes in lebanon. What do you make of where we currently now are . Thank you for inviting me, matty. I think where we are as a natural and logical consequence of the last 12 months. Israel has been bombarding gaza for nearly 12 months now, nearly a year, with very little consequence from the united states, despite the biden administration setting a red lines time and again. Time and again they have crossed those red lines, there hasn t been accountability or consequences. Quite naturally, the israelis knew that they see fit, without worrying about accountability from the International Community whatsoever. International community whatsoever. ~ g. whatsoever. When Joe Biden talks about whatsoever. When Joe Biden talks about deescalating i talks about De Escalating again, as he did in the last hour, what you make of that . I think the israelis will make of that as they had of every other statement in this regard over the last year, he may say that but there will not be any movement from the administration that will actually force them to take it seriously. He said, don t escalate, they have escalated. There is no such thing as De Escalation through excavation. That is very clear to anybody that knows anything about military strategy. It is absurd, it is incredibly dangerous and reckless and risk spiralling into a much more destructive war, across the region, and it says nothing about, in the interim, the destruction of Southern Lebanon. I think we are going to see a ground assault, and invasion of Southern Lebanon. I strongly suspect that, if the israelis continue in the same track, the next logical course of action will be a Buffer Zone in the north. I don t think any of this is going to help the israelis return their citizens to the north. I think that the key to that has been clear all along, that if you want to De Escalate, in this conflict, then you have to De Escalate where you do it actually is, and that is in gaza. Unfortunately, the israelis have made it clear they are not interested in De Escalating in gaza. 0n the contrary, they are prioritising a Military Presence in gaza, and i suspect that this may turn out to be the case in Southern Lebanon going forward, as well. I the case in Southern Lebanon going forward, as well. Going forward, as well. I will come back going forward, as well. I will come back to going forward, as well. I will come back to gaza goin