Israeli war planes flew low over Beirut and carried out bombings as they broke the sound barrier, sending birds flying in panic and people in their houses and offices rushing to open the windows to avoid the glass shattering.
Fears are rising that 11 months of exchanges of fire between the two sides will escalate into all-out war, particularly after this week’s unprecedented bombings around Lebanon and in Syria, detonating hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah.