Middle East on the brink: Israeli tanks mass at the border with Lebanon

Middle East on the brink: Israeli tanks mass at the border with Lebanon amid fears of imminent ground invasion - as West scrambles to prevent 'all out war' following IDF airstrikes in Yemen

Sabrina Miller

Charlie Faulkner

Hundreds of Israeli tanks have lined up along the Lebanon border as fears grow over an anticipated ground invasion that could plunge the Middle East into an all-out war.

It came as Israel also launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against Houthi ­targets in Yemen on Sunday amid fears that the raging conflict could spill out across the region.

The Israel-Hamas war has escalated in recent days after the IDF said it had wiped out Hezbollah's top brass in the airstrike on southern Beirut that killed the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli troops and tanks were last night seen gathering in the north, on their border with southern Lebanon, in apparent preparation for a ground invasion. 

The last time Israel launched a ground offensive of Lebanon was in 2006, when 34 days of intense cross-border fighting with Hezbollah ended in a stalemate.

The United States has issued an 11th-hour appeal to both sides for restraint, with US president Joe Biden warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided.

Several foreign embassies have now begun to evacuate non-essential staff as the country braces for the possibility of an all-out war. 

Continued airstrikes in Lebanon killed at least 100 people on Sunday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

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