By John Sparks, international correspondent in Beirut

There is virtual gridlock in the centre of Beirut today as people leave their districts – particularly in the south of the city and those neighbourhoods controlled by Hezbollah.

We can see cars: on some of them people have stacked their belongings in the back, on others with children and relatives inside, trying to get out of those areas they fear will be attacked by the Israelis.

These recorded phone calls that have been made by the Israeli army have been received, however, all over the city, even in the centre (see 12.08pm post).

Our contacts at the information ministry, in the centre of the Lebanese capital, received these calls instructing them to evacuate if the building was storing or contained arms belonging to Hezbollah or any of its allies.

It has sent a collective shiver through the community. 

And it is an unwelcome reminder of previous times: the war in 2006, when much of the southern suburbs controlled by Hezbollah were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes.

This is something that people in each and every community that make up this city do not want to return to.

State schools in Beirut and in locations throughout the country have been designated by the education ministry as emergency shelters for people affected by an Israeli bombing campaign.

It is a sign that this country is now considering something that most people thought was once unthinkable: a major confrontation with the Israelis.