From the vantage of a hilltop inside southern Lebanon, it is clear the terrain of Israel’s land war has moved from the urban ruins of Gaza to a tangle of dense undergrowth.

Brush and thick green forests stretch across steep hillsides, marking a front considered more rugged than areas farther east where Israeli troops have engaged Hizbollah fighters in Lebanese border villages.

The Israel Defense Forces took a group of journalists into Lebanon on Sunday, showing them arid woodland paths and outcrops where Israeli officers said the militant group Hizbollah has established forward operating bases.

The tunnels, bunkers and weapons caches gradually uncovered over the past fortnight were, Israel claims, part of preparations for a potential cross-border assault.

To counter the threat, Israel has billed its invasion force, consisting of some four divisions and an estimated 20,000 troops, backed by one of the most fierce air campaigns mounted beyond its borders, as a “limited and precise” offensive into Lebanon.

But its forces are now moving across a sprawling, harsh terrain that has wrongfooted generations of Israeli soldiers, whose pushes into Lebanon have a history of flawed tactics and long occupations.

“Undergrowth war is more complex than urban fighting. It has no logic and you can’t take shortcuts,” said Brigadier General Yitzhak Norkin, the commander of the IDF’s 146th Division, responsible for the far-western sector of the offensive.

Despite Israel’s insistence that this operation is limited, the UN estimates that nearly a quarter of Lebanon’s territory is under an evacuation order from the Israeli military. Israel has told about 140 communities in south Lebanon to flee their homes since October 1, ordering residents to move north of the Awali river, which runs at least 80km north of the southern tip of Lebanon.

Norkin said Israel’s goal was to remove Hizbollah’s capacity to threaten Israel and allow 60,000 Israelis to return to their homes, after being evacuated when the Lebanese movement began firing on northern Israel a day after Hamas’s October 7 attack.

So far Norkin’s division, the IDF’s largest and made up solely of reservists, has not entered the Lebanese villages farther northward. Since it joined the invasion force last week, he said, the focus has been on “cleaning” this small strip of land tucked a few hundred metres inside a massive Israeli-built border wall.

In one square kilometre, Israeli officers said, the IDF battalion operating in the area had found around 100 Hizbollah military positions, including a tunnel 10 meters deep and 50 meters wide with firing positions for mortars and anti-tank guided missiles. Another weapons cache was filled with army kit, small arms, mines and explosive devices.

“You can’t take a step [in this area] without coming across Hizbollah [military] infrastructure,” said Ariel, an IDF officer in the division. “And without forces physically on the ground you can’t clear out this area from this . . . infrastructure because of the tunnels and the forests.”

Multiple Israeli officers were incredulous that the UN peacekeepers in the area, some in a base located less than 200 meters from a Hizbollah tunnel, had not detected the extensive building project.

Unifil has also come under fire from Hizbollah in the past. In 2022, an Irish peacekeeper was killed and another seriously injured when their armoured patrol car was attacked in a Hizbollah-controlled area.

Senior Israeli officials have said over the past two weeks that the peacekeepers are “not the enemy” and have only “suggested” they leave southern Lebanon. However, several international troops in this sector have recently been injured by Israeli fire. Norkin called them regrettable “mistakes”, while also blaming one incident on Hizbollah.

Over the past year, Israel’s offensive against Hizbollah has killed more than 2,000 people and forced some 1.2mn from their homes, mostly over the past three weeks. On the Israeli side, over 50 people have been killed by incoming Hizbollah fire since the start of the war, in addition to 10 Israeli soldiers since the launch of the ground incursion earlier this month.

From inside southern Lebanon, Israeli artillery thuds in the distance and the growl of fighter jets above were an incessant reminder that this was an active war zone. And Israeli forces have taken incoming mortar and drone attacks themselves from Hizbollah.

Yet the militants had mostly retreated northward to the village line ahead of the Israeli incursion, ceding the area to the IDF, according to Israeli officers. Norkin admitted no “face-to-face” combat had broken out yet with Hizbollah fighters in the area.

Instead, Norkin said “slow and meticulous” progress had been made, given the need to keep his troops safe and the time needed to find and eliminate what they say are hundreds more Hizbollah positions in this sector alone.

Inside one thicket of baby oak trees, along a path originally cut by Hizbollah but widened more recently by the IDF, little was visible either from above or in a 360 degree turn.

“The enemy can be standing 5 metres from you and you won’t know it,” said one veteran Israeli reservist, clutching his assault rifle.

If this specific sector of the IDF’s offensive is any indication, the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon will be measured in weeks and months rather than days. Norkin fought in the last Israel-Hizbollah war in 2006 as a young tank commander. That conflict lasted for over a month, and ended with the Middle East’s most powerful military bogged down in a stalemate. Yet this time, he said, was very different.

“Now [during this offensive] we are getting into much more complicated areas — the forests, the bushes. In 2006 we didn’t do it. We went around these areas. We didn’t fight here,” Norkin said, pointing around at the area his forces now held, with armoured personnel carriers, tanks and infantry kicking up dust clouds on the rocky access roads.

Later on he admitted that the sheer scale of southern Lebanon — “a huge territory” — would make it difficult to “destroy everything” Hizbollah had built.

The group, the region’s most heavily armed non-state actor, has controlled southern Lebanon since Israel ended its occupation in 2000. It is also Lebanon’s dominant political force and deeply embedded in the social fabric of the country’s south.

There is already talk at the top levels of the Israeli military and political leadership about a diplomatic arrangement that would, like previous UN Security Council resolutions, call for Hizbollah to withdraw from the border region, which would be demilitarised save for international peacekeepers and the Lebanese army. Yet prior agreements have not been implemented by either side.

It is an open question whether even Israeli officials believe such an arrangement will meet their objectives and provide real security. Nor, many Lebanese wonder, will it arrive soon enough to halt the spiralling death toll inside their country.

Mark, nearing 70 years of age, has been fighting in Lebanon and other Israeli battlefronts for over four decades, since Israel’s first ground invasion of its northern neighbour in 1978. Now one of the oldest reservists in the IDF, he is stoic about the prospects of this latest offensive.

“I guess we may need to stay here and hold a small security zone again, but that’s just my opinion,” he said, referring to Israel’s 18-year occupation in the 1980s and 1990s of the very hills around which he was now navigating his armoured personnel carrier — another paratrooper shepherding journalists to see yet another Israeli war in southern Lebanon.

This story was viewed by the Israeli military censors as a condition of accompanying troops into Lebanon. Nothing was changed as a result.

A SAVVY flight attendant has shared a smart tactic for people who are sandwiched between two armrest-hogging neighbours.

A survey revealed that armrest hogging was ranked as one of the most unpleasant onboard practices by over a third of customers using UK carriers.

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Mary, a flight attendant for a major American airline, offered advice on how to get back that coveted armrest space, particularly when she’s stuck in a job transfer between two people and can’t choose her seat.

Mary revealed to BBC News that she frequently finds herself seated in the middle, between two people who usually take up both armrests. These people are usually men.

She acknowledged that she had to “tussle with elbows” to get an armrest, but she also disclosed her own plan for taking back the area.

Mary’s resolution? She explained that she waited until they reached for a drink and took the armrest, demonstrating patience and timing.

A guy persisted in trying to press my arm, so I had to tell him, “We’re not doing that today.”

William Hanson, a writer and etiquette coach, also recommended a mindset to have while travelling to avoid any tension.

According to the expert, people should get used to the idea of sharing “elbow rests” rather than armrests.

It comes after another flight attendant revealed the packable item she swears by on a flight.

Although blankets are sometimes provided by airlines, Lori Thompson said it’s always worth taking your own.

She said: “I have always had a packable blanket with me for those chilly flights.

“These are nice to have in case there is not a blanket available.”

Lori, who works for Delta Air Lines, also recommended taking a portable mini humidifier.

She told Thrillist: “Our hotel rooms can be rather dry, and after traveling a mini humidifier adds much needed moisture to the air.

“This item is small and all you need is a glass or bottle of water.

“Feel free to add a drop or two of essential oils to freshen the air.”

Meanwhile, other travelling experts also revealed their plane essentials.

Ben Whatman, who works for Air New Zealand, suggested a specific spot treatment – the Origins Super Spot Remover.

He said: “This is an absolute miracle product, I swear by this!

“I always keep one in my cabin bag—if I see a little spot or pimple appear, this will get rid of it in no time at all.”

The jet-setter also recommended the Kiehl’s Lip Balm, to combat dehydrated lips on long-haul flights.

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New York Sun owner Dovid Efune is in advanced talks with several large equity investors, including Ashcroft Partners, to finance a $550mn acquisition of the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, ahead of an exclusivity period likely to start this week.

Efune is expected to sign an exclusivity agreement that will allow the British-born media executive six weeks to reach a deal for buying the Telegraph, according to several people close to the talks.

The deal has been slightly delayed while Efune has lined up financing and by holiday periods over the past two weeks, they added.

Efune is in talks with a number of US funds to support his deal. These include Ashcroft, launched by Jarett Banks, who worked for several years with US billionaire David Tepper, and the Koch family, which owns one of the largest privately held companies in the US.

The Kochs’ involvement was first reported by US news site Semafor last week.

Oaktree, the US fund founded by Howard Marks, is also likely to be involved in providing debt for the deal.

The people close to the deal said the funding needed to be clear given the regulatory hurdles faced by previous would-be acquirers.

The seller of the Telegraph, RedBird IMI, which is partly owned by a state-backed Abu Dhabi investor, was prevented from taking full control earlier this year after the UK government baulked at allowing Abu Dhabi funding to be used in the ownership structure.

Efune, who has been supported by LionTree, the boutique investment bank run by Aryeh Bourkoff, is in advanced talks with about five large equity investors to finance the latest deal, the people said.

However, others that have been approached — including Elliott co-chief executive Paul Singer and Bill Ackman — have decided not to back the deal at present, they added. However, one person said they might decide to come back to the table once the exclusivity agreement was signed.

The emergence of Efune as frontrunner has surprised media executives in Fleet Street given his low profile in the UK.

The newspaper has attracted interest from rival investors, including hedge fund boss and GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, as well as media groups including David Montgomery’s National World.

While Efune is yet to enter formal exclusivity talks, other bidders such as National World have been informed that they are not progressing as it stands.

One person close to the talks described the past week as “exclusivity to go into exclusivity”. RedBird IMI declined to comment. Efune was not available for comment. Ashcroft has been approached for comment.

A GRUMPY pub owner is reluctantly lifting his ban on the sale of half pints and soft drinks.

John Bittles outright refused to add fizzy drinks to his menu and any Guinness pours smaller than a full pint some two years ago.

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The Belfast-based landlord has since changed his ways after revelling in tourists and visitor’s sufferings for long enough.

Despite being music to the ears of those who prefer shorter beverages, a half-pint will now cost just 85p less than a full one.

The eye-watering price tag of Bittles’ half pints in one of the capital’s smallest pubs is £4.95.

And the change of heart is thanks to the influx of cruise ships docking in the port right next to his tiny establishment.

John told Metro: “Touristy people especially are coming looking for a half pint, so I’ve worked out what I have to do to make it worth my while.”

He added some do decide to just order a full pint when they realise the cost.

But many are happy to pay for the half because they’re “not pint-drinking people, they are more half-pint people”.

John previously made a sign stating “No coke drinkers” – with customers being refused a soft drink – before lifting the ban.

However, strict conditions still apply.

Bittles is only allowing the sale of pop if the buyer is with someone ordering an alcoholic drink.

A top economic adviser to Donald Trump dismissed concerns that the former president would weaken the dollar or cut trade if re-elected, insisting he wants the US to remain the world’s reserve currency and uses tariffs as a negotiating tactic.

The comments from Scott Bessent, a 62-year-old hedge fund manager who made a windfall betting on the Japanese yen and British pound for liberal philanthropist George Soros, are relevant because he has emerged as a top Trump adviser on the economy and finance in recent years.

Although Bessent did not serve in the Trump administration between 2017 and 2021, he has given more than $2mn to his campaign in 2024, co-hosting fundraisers across America and in London. He is frequently spoken of as a possible Treasury secretary if Trump wins back the White House.

Trump and running mate JD Vance have called for weakening the dollar to boost American exports, despite the cost to American consumers buying foreign goods. 

But speaking to the Financial Times, Bessent said that he expected a possible new Trump administration to support a strong dollar in line with US policy over decades and would not deliberately try to devalue it.

Bessent said Trump “stands by the US as a reserve currency”.

“The reserve currency can go up and down based on the market. I believe that if you have good economic policies, you’re naturally going to have a strong dollar.”

Bessent, who cautioned that he did not speak for Trump, also defended the former president’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on imports, including across-the-board levies of up to 20 per cent on all goods. These were “maximalist” positions that would probably be watered down in talks with trading partners, he said. 

“My general view is that at the end of the day, he’s a free trader,” said Bessent. “It’s escalate to de-escalate.”

He added that Trump would appoint a new Federal Reserve head — current chair Jay Powell’s term is up in 2026 — but would not interfere with its independence. There are fears that the former president could politicise the central bank if he won a second term.

“He’s going to make his views known,” said Bessent. “I think what’s different about Trump is he’s a businessman — and he understands economics.”

Bessent is based in South Carolina and founded global macro investment firm Key Square Group, which was seeded with $2bn from Soros.

He has become one of Trump’s top economic advisers, earning a shout out from the Republican nominee during his September speech at the New York Economic Club. He has made public appearances alongside other top Trump allies this year, including with Kevin Hassett, the former chair of the council of economic advisers, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. He also appeared with Stephen Moore, a Trump appointee to the Fed board who failed to gain Senate confirmation for the post, at an economic policy summit during the summer’s Republican national convention.

In the 1990s, Bessent ran Soros Fund Management’s London office and helped to create a bet against the British pound that netted more than $1bn in profit. From 2011 to 2015, he worked as the chief investment officer at Soros’s family office, making another windfall betting against the Japanese yen.

Bessent said he had not faced any scepticism from Republicans for having worked for the liberal Soros.

“George is very good at understanding how complex systems either accelerate or break down. And I think that’s my strong point, too,” said Bessent. “Unfortunately, he’s taken that to the political arena.” 

Bessent said he viewed himself as “the bridge” between traditional and nationalist conservatism, which were at odds over foreign trade among other topics.

“I’m quite concerned that this is the last chance to grow our way out of this debt and not become a European-style, over-regulated, over-indebted economy,” he said.

“I think that we are in the midst of a reordering on international trade and relationships, and I’d like to be a part of that, either on the inside or the outside.”

Bessent would be a pugnacious pick for a Senate-confirmed position. In the course of the interview with the FT, he labelled Democratic nominee Kamala Harris “an economic illiterate” and her running mate Tim Walz “twice as illiterate”. 

He defended Trump’s economic plans after a recent study suggested that the former president’s pledges would increase the national debt twice as much as Harris, calling the modelling by its author, the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “terrible”. He added that the CRFB did not fully account for how cutting taxes will enable growth.

Bessent also blasted studies showing Trump’s proposals — including tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation and deportation — would increase consumer prices, and noted how prices skyrocketed under Joe Biden’s presidency. 

“It’s insanity — this idea that Trump is inflationary is absurd,” he said. “We had the worst inflation in 40 years under Biden-Harris. Everything she is talking about is inflationary, but somehow there’s going to be equanimity of inflation under her.”

Bessent suggested that Trump could cut spending by dismantling Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which he called “the Doomsday machine for the deficit”. He added that the federal government could give more power to the states on Medicaid, the US government health program for poor families expanded under the Affordable Care Act. Such a move could potentially lead to cutbacks.

He downplayed the benefits of closing the so-called carried interest loophole, which allows investment managers to pay the lower capital gains tax rate on their profits rather than the higher personal income tax.

“It’s not much money,” said Bessent. “I think these symbolic things are ridiculous.”

The billionaire investor said he believed that “one of the greatest things” that Trump had done was make the GOP “the party of working-class people”.

BEFORE you chuck your change make sure to keep an eye out for this one detail that could be worth hundreds, after one sold for £85.

This little design flaw could turn your £2 coin into more than just a pretty penny.

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If you spot an engraved Gorilla portrait on a 2019 £2 coin, you may be in for a win.

According to rare coin site The Great British Coin Hunt, the Jersey Zoo Gorilla coin is one to look out for.

The site claims there was supposed be a full set of these uncoloured coins available, but due to the Covid restrictions there were only a few of these printed.

Due to its scarcity, the uncoloured coin price has soared in value even without the misprint and now can be sold for around £100 a pop.

The misprint – coins with no denomination – are even more highly sought-after by rare coin collectors and and are worth lot more than face value.

If you’re lucky enough to spot one of these, make sure you check for the design error which bumps the price up to a whopping £200 to £300.

Check the coin for the Gorilla engraving – it will also have crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the back, wearing the Girls of Great Britain tiara.

If it doesn’t explicitly state it’s worth two pounds then you can’t cash in.

On eBay, one of these error coins was selling for £85 – more than 42 times the face value.

Seller Pauline2711 posted the auction on August 8 with five different bidders trying to get their hands on it.

However, this isn’t the only £2 coin worth keeping an eye out for.

The 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland coin can reach up to £60 with only 485,500 minted.

If you’ve got the complete set then you can snag even more with one collector selling four coins for £100.

The Olympic coins are often price up, and if you can spot the Olympic centenary you’ll get more than just memorabilia of the 2012 London games.

With 910,000 in circulation you may even be able to find one, which could sell on eBay for £37.95.

How to sell a rare coin

If you have managed to get your hands on a rare coin, there are a few ways you can go about selling it.

Online platforms like eBay, Facebook marketplace, or trading apps can be easy to use – but there are risks.

Scammers may try and target sellers with this trick – they’ll say they are keen to purchase the item and ask for money upfront for a courier.

Unfortunately they have no plan on collecting the item and are only using the courier to grab free cash.

When buying or selling on Facebook Marketplace it’s advisable to meet up in person.

Make sure this is a safe space and avoid payment links.

Many sellers will choose to handle cash when meeting to limit the risk of scams.

To ensure the ultimate safety you can sell rare coins at an auction.

This can be done through The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service which has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.

If you send them an email, a member of the valuation team will responded – however you will be charged for this service.

Finally, you can sell rare coins on eBay.

Here you are fully responsible for the sale price but eBay will take a cut.

The site charge 10% of the money you made which includes postage and packaging.

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