Raffi Berg
Middle East digital editor

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The entry of Hezbollah in the conflict threatens to reopen a devastating year-long war between Israel and the Lebanese group which ended in a ceasefire 15 months ago.

Hezbollah – a Shia Islamist organisation – is one of the most powerful of the armed groups across the region which are loyal to Iran. The Islamic republic has spent billions of dollars funding, training and equipping it to oppose Israel for decades.

Hezbollah and Israel have repeatedly attacked one another since the group was formed in the 1980s. They fought a deadly war in 2006, and again in 2023-24, triggered by Hezbollah rocketing Israeli positions in support of Palestinians a day after Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October and the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

During the last war with Hezbollah, Israeli attacks killed about 4,000 people in Lebanon and left more than 1.2 million displaced, Lebanon said. Israeli authorities said more than 80 of its soldiers and 47 of its civilians were killed.

Hezbollah was significantly weakened in the war and its firepower degraded. As part of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, it agreed to withdraw extensively from southern Lebanon, although Israel has continued to attack Hezbollah targets which it says pose a threat.

The group’s rocket and drone attack on Monday and the Israeli response puts the ceasefire in jeopardy, leaving the populations of northern Israel and Lebanon anxiously wondering if the renewed hostilities will be limited or spiral once again into all-out war.

Samantha Granville
Reporting from Beirut

The Lebanese government has banned Hezbollah’s armed activities throughout the country, the prime minister said.

The decision marks one of the clearest challenges yet to the movement’s long-standing parallel authority.

The move follows Hezbollah’s rocket launches toward Israel on Monday, carried out without state consultation, which directly undercut the government’s declared policy of avoiding regional escalation.

Both President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam framed the action as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, warning it risked dragging the country into a broader war and providing Israel justification for retaliation.

How this plays out practically is still unclear as Hezbollah remains armed despite recent conflict with Israel.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Image source, Reuters

Access to those in Iran is difficult in the best of times. International news organisations are often refused visas, which severely limits their ability to gather information there.

From afar, what I'm hearing today about the current situation on the ground from two sources is that there is a heavy security presence on the streets during the night in Tehran and a nearby city, Karaj.

One person tells me prices have increased since the start of escalations and streets are mostly empty.

People are also angry about the current internet outage - which according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks has been ongoing for more than 48 hours.

Although streets are quiet, bakeries and petrol stations are busy.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces says it has received reports that a hospital in Tehran has sustained "minor collateral damage" following an attack on Sunday on nearby military infrastructure.

It says the hospital was not the target of the attack.

Image source, Reuters

As we just reported, sirens have sounded at the UK base in southern Cyprus.

Now, a Cypriot government spokesperson says two drones heading towards RAF Akrotiri have been intercepted.

This comes after an Iranian drone crashed into the UK military base last night, "causing minor material damage".

Nikos Papanikolaou
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Sirens are sounding again in Akrotiri, according to local reports, and British fighter jets have taken off.

A message sent to employees warned of an "ongoing security threat" and urged people to return home and remain indoors until further notice.

"Stay away from windows and take shelter behind or under sturdy, solid furniture. Please await further instructions," the alert said.

According to information received, the Cypriot interior minister has instructed the mayor of Kourion, near the UK base, to proceed with a mandatory evacuation.

Meanwhile, Cypriot media reports that an alarm was raised at Paphos Airport after a suspected drone was detected in its airspace.

Earlier, the Kuwaiti military said "several" US fighter planes had crashed in Kuwait - and that the circumstances of the incident were under investigation.

US Central Command has just now said three of its F-15 jets "flying in support of Operation Epic Fury" - the US operation against Iran - "went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident".

All six crew ejected safely and have been recovered, it says.

Footage verified by the BBC earlier shows the apparent moment a fighter jet was downed near Kuwait City - watch it below:

In a new update, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has "begun an additional broad strike" on the Iranian capital, Tehran.

This is targeting what it describes as "Iranian terror regime targets".

Conflict spreads to Lebanon

• In the early hours of Monday, Israel began launching strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets inLebanon, after it accused the militant group of firing rockets at Israel

• Israeli strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon have killed at least 31 people and injured 149, according to Lebanon's health ministry

Apparent Iranian strikes around the region continue

• Explosions have been reported in Bahrain and Dubai, and an oil refinery on fire in Saudi Arabia
• In a joint statement, the US and six allied Gulf states said Iran's actions in the region represent a "dangerous escalation", which threatens stability in the Middle East

• Earlier, the Kuwaiti military said "several" US fighter planes had crashedin Kuwait, with the crew unharmed
• The cause is being investigated, with verified footage showing the apparent moment a fighter jet fell from the sky and crashed near Kuwait City

Latest between Iran, the US and Israel

• The Iranian Red Crescent Society says 555 people have been killed in Iran following attacks by the US and Israel across more than 130 cities
• On Sunday, an Iranian missile strike killed nine people in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh

Meanwhile, in Cyprus

• UK military base RAF Akrotiri was targeted by "a suspected drone attack" just after midnight
• The British Ministry of Defence said it was moving family members who live at the base to alternative accommodation as a "precautionary measure"

Iran's actions in the region represent a "dangerous escalation", which threatens stability in the Middle East, a joint statement from the US and six allied Gulf states says.

"Targeting civilians and non-combatant states is reckless behaviour that undermines stability," the statement - shared by Kuwait's foreign ministry - reads.

The statement - published originally in Arabic - was issued jointly by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, the UAE and the US.

They say they "reaffirm our right to self-defence" as apparent Iranian strikes around the region continue.

It says attacks have taken place in Bahrain, Iraq (including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq), Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

In a new statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it's killed Sayed Yahya Hamidi, Iran's deputy minister of intelligence for Israel affairs.

Jalal Pour Hossein, head of the espionage division at the ministry of intelligence, was also killed, along with other "regime officials", it says.

It does not detail how, when or where they were killed.

It also adds that Iran's ministry of intelligence headquarters in Tehran was struck "a short while ago".

Saudia Arabia's energy ministry says a "limited fire" at the Ras Tanura refinery - which is run by the country's state oil company, Aramco - has been brought under control.

The statement - shared by the Saudi Press Agency - says the refinery sustained "minor damage from falling debris" due to the interception of "two drones in the refinery's vicinity". It adds that the fire was "immediately dealt with" by emergency services, with no injuries or fatalities.

Video verified by the BBC shows a fire and large plumes of smoke billowing from the refinery.

Saudia Arabia has long hosted US and western military forces, and on Saturday its government issued a statement condemning "blatant and cowardly Iranian attacks".

These attacks were "successfully intercepted" and targeted the Riyadh Region and Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia said.

Image source, Social media

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

Based on screenshots of two messages sent from inside Iran to the BBC, Iranians have been warned by the intelligence unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) not to go out onto the streets to protest.

The messages describe any upcoming protests as “street riots” that are “planned by the enemy”, and warn that “any movement that disrupts security is considered an example of direct cooperation with the enemy".

In another text message, the IRGC has asked citizens to report “anti-security” incidents by calling them.

Since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the BBC has verified videos from several cities showing gatherings of celebration in the streets.

At the same time, Iranian outlets have reported on groups of mourners in Tehran and other cities.

Meanwhile, the internet is still down for most people in Iran, so it’s very difficult to see a clear picture of what is going on inside, while some are able to connect through methods such as the satellite internet service, Starlink.

Bethany Bell
Reporting at the IAEA in Vienna

Image source, NurPhoto via Getty Images

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says there is no indication that any of Iran’s "nuclear installations, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Tehran research reactor or other nuclear fuel cycle facilities have been damaged or hit" after recent US and Israeli strikes.

In a statement to its board of governors, he says the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) was trying to contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities but had "no response so far".

He calls for “utmost restraint in all military operations" given the nuclear sites in Iran and other countries in the region, including Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told the BBC that the Natanz nuclear site was hit on Sunday. He gave no further details.

Chris Partridge
Weapons analyst

The video footage of what looks very much like an F-15E Strike Eagle - or a variant - shows the aircraft in a flat spin after a catastrophic failure, the cause of which is unknown.

No word yet from US Central Command, which controls US military operations in the area, but the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defence says several US jets crashed in Kuwait, with the pilots ejecting, during a period of intense Iranian fire targeting the country.

F-15E Strike Eagles are air-to-air and air-to-ground multirole aircraft. We don’t yet know exactly what role they are carrying out in this conflict, but it seems highly likely they would be involved in defensive counter air operations to help intercept Iranian missiles and drones.

They may use onboard heat-seeking missiles to do this, longer-range missiles or even “guns” if close enough. There are other weapons available, too, such as laser-guided rockets.

It’s not clear whether any lost jets were brought down by friendly or hostile fire in this latest incident near the Iraqi border. But in a combat environment - with much "hot metal" flying around - incidents become more likely.

Shock, fury and tough choices for Lebanon's governmentpublished at 09:37 GMT

09:37 GMT

Carine Torbey
BBC Arabic, in Beirut

Image source, Reuters

One can only imagine the heated discussions happening behind closed doors in an emergency meeting of the Lebanese cabinet this morning.

Hezbollah’s decision to attack Israel after more than a year of inaction from its side is a great source of shock, fury and worry for the government and the population.

The authorities have ordered the arrest of people who launched the rockets and their instigators.

With Hezbollah openly announcing it’s behind the operation, there is no doubt about the identity of the “instigators”.

Although the authorities in Lebanon have started implementing a plan to disarm Hezbollah, they have adopted a soft policy towards the group in the last few months, in order to avoid any confrontation on the ground between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah.

It was feared this could lead to a civil war.

But after Hezbollah’s attacks yesterday and the country finding itself facing the fallout another potential full-blown war, the government is pressed more than ever to review its tactics and calculations.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has "precisely struck" a senior Hezbollah member in Beirut.

It says it will share more details shortly.

Footage verified by the BBC shows the moment an apparent US fighter jet falls from the sky and crashes to the ground near Kuwait City.

It was filmed from the west of the city on the edge of the Al Jahra area.

Earlier, the Kuwaiti military said "several" US fighter planes had crashed in Kuwait, with the crew unharmed.

Samantha Granville
Reporting from Beirut

The humming of drones has taken over Beirut this morning.

Israeli drones (including surveillance UAVs like the Hermes 450) have been spotted and heard over the city and its southern suburbs of Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold.

These are primarily Israeli reconnaissance/surveillance drones supporting the ongoing "offensive campaign" against Hezbollah targets, amid explosions, evacuations and heavy Israeli air activity.

It follows Israel's airstrikes overnight in response to Hezbollah firing drones and rockets to the northern city of Haifa.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

In Israel, a spokesperson for the military is briefing reporters. Asked by one if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is preparing for ground operations in Lebanon following fresh exchanges of fire, he says "all options are on the table".

Hezbollah "will pay a heavy price" for striking Israel, he says, adding: "We are prepared — well prepared.

"We have mobilised close to 100,000 reservists; dozens of battalions, brigades, divisions, deployed in defence of the northern border, and prepared for all possibilities, in defence and in attack.

"We are holding situation assessments and all options are on the table."

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

The Iranian Red Crescent Society says 555 people have been killed in Iran following attacks by the US and Israel across more than 130 cities.