Panic on the streets of Beirut as Israeli rhetoric sparks fears of all-out war

The news spread like wildfire and within minutes, the streets of Beirut were gripped with panic.

We saw residents stuffing themselves into cars - or trying to leave on foot with whatever they could carry on their back.

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The Israeli military had issued an evacuation order on four separate districts in the city's southern suburbs and half a million people or more had taken to the streets.

They were united by one single aim: to flee the capital as quickly as they could.

The fear was self-evident - that Israeli planes and drones will obliterate their homes.

'It's so dangerous'

We managed to grab a word with one man preparing to flee. His wife cradled a small child on the back of his battered-looking moped.

"The whole place is under threat; it seems they're going to strike, we've got to pick up our family and flee," he said.

His wife added: "With all these threats and strikes, it's so dangerous, it is not safe at all."

He then guided his bike into the snarling traffic.

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The words of a far-right Israeli cabinet minister have amplified the anxiety here.

The Beirut suburb of Dahiya, said Bezalal Smotrich, would resemble the decimated city of Khan Younis in Gaza.

"You wanted to bring hell on us, you brought hell on yourselves. Dahiyah will look like Khan Younis. Our citizens of the north will live quietly, in peace and in security," he declared.

What seems clear to people in Lebanon is that the Israelis are now making the rules.

Residents in southern Lebanon have also been ordered to leave their homes and head north beyond the Litani River - and we discovered their air campaign was well under way in the coastal city of Tyre.

'We have nowhere to go'

We were taken to a bomb site by a member of Hezbollah's media arm, who told us we were looking at the city power station.

A giant tank holding diesel was punctured with holes and a tower supporting solar panels had collapsed. The site was stinking, smoking wreck and Tyre no longer had electricity.

We wondered why some city residents had decided to stay.

Hussein Chehadeh told us the reason was simple - he had "no money", he said, and had the pressure of paying for children, petrol, houses, and rent.

"Our problem here in the south", he said, [is] "we have nowhere to go".

Israel 'will not stop'

Mr Chehadeh and many others in the south are putting themselves at risk.

In exclusive footage passed to Sky News, we saw the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) taking up positions in the southern Lebanese hills, with the country's military chief of staff suggesting that Israel was prepared to go much further.

"We are striking forcefully, deeper inside Lebanon, and we will strengthen control in the south. We will not stop until Hezbollah is disarmed," said Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.

It seems this military conflict may morph into all-out war - a contest and a potential catastrophe that could sweep up all in its path.

(c) Sky News 2026: Panic on the streets of Beirut as Israeli rhetoric sparks fears of all-out war