Sally Nabil
Reporting from Beirut

Image source, Reuters

As soon as we arrived early this afternoon at a spot overlooking Beirut’s southern suburb Dahieh, we could smell and see plumes of smoke rising from many blocks after an Israeli bombardment. The sky looked almost grey.

A few minutes later we heard a very loud bang, what seemed to be another strike. It started overnight and continued into the morning and was exceptionally intense.

Many residents of Dahieh have already fled. It’s hard to survive in such a heavily damaged place that’s being constantly targeted.

The more the escalation continues, the more complicated the displacement crisis gets.

Shelters in Beirut are overcrowded, they can’t take more people. Many families of the hardest hit areas will struggle to find a safe shelter, and some of them are too poor to rent anywhere else.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining our live coverage, here are today's main developments from the Middle East:

• Israel issued fresh evacuation orders for around 25 villages in southern Lebanon, as it continued with its ground invasion

• Strikes over the border from both Hezbollah and Israel have continued
• A female police officer, 19, was killed and 10 others were injured in a shooting attack at a bus station in southern Israel
• In Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says 26 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a former school and mosque on Saturday. The IDF says they were used as "command and control centres" by Hamas
• Iran has announced a mass cancellation of flights tonight, amid Israeli warnings it will retaliate for an Iranian missile attack earlier this week
• Events marking the one-year anniversary of the 7 October attacks have begun to be held around the world
• The Israeli military has bolstered troop numbers in southern Israel ahead of the anniversary

Iran has announced it is cancelling flights from 21:00 local time tonight until 06:00 on Monday morning.

The Iranian state news agency said it applied to "some" airports, while another Iranian news agency quoted the head of the civil aviation organisation as saying it applied to all airports.

The cancellation of flights comes after Israel threatened to retaliate for an Iranian missile attack last week. It is unclear when or how Israel will respond.

Image source, Israeli police

We've just learned the woman killed in a shooting which took place earlier today in the Israeli city of Beersheba was a policewoman.

Shira Chaya Suslik, 19, was a sergeant with Israel's border police.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid posted a tribute to Suslik on X, describing the attack at a bus station as "severe and despicable".

Police said a preliminary investigation showed the gunman was "eliminated in a few seconds" by security forces at the scene. They earlier described the incident as a "suspected terror attack".

Ten others were injured in the shooting, with one in "moderate to severe" condition, according to Israel's ambulance service.

Earlier, it was reported the victim was 25 but Israeli authorities have since clarified she was 19.

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

The mother of Emily Damari, the only British-Israeli hostage still being held by Hamas, has addressed thousands of people at a rally in London.

The 28-year-old was kidnapped on 7 October from her home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She was shot in the hand and her dog was killed.

Mandy Damari tells the Hyde Park event, which coincides with others around the world marking the attacks on southern Israel one year ago, that her daughter loved to visit the UK to see family, go to pubs and shops and watch her football team, Tottenham Hotspur.

She says: "She is a daughter of both countries, but no one here mentions the fact that there is still a female British hostage being held captive by Hamas for a year now - and I sometimes wonder if people even know there is a British woman there.

"Imagine for a moment if Emily was your daughter. Try to picture what she is going through."

Mandy pleads for the British government and others to do more to secure their release.

She says: "My beautiful, funny and brave daughter, who I love to the moon and back deserves to come home.

"I need to hug her again. I need to see her smile."

You can read more about Emily's story here.

In Israel, people are also starting to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on 7 October last year.

As a reminder, Hamas gunmen attacked Israel from Gaza, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

People attending the Nova Music Festival in Re'im were among the victims.

Today, people have been visiting the site to pay their respects.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Frances Read
Reporting from Hyde Park

Here in London, thousands of people are gathering at Hyde Park for an event commemorating the 7 October attacks Hamas launched on southern Israel from Gaza last year.

Harold Rosenberg, from North Finchley, told us that he believes “the world has forgotten the horrors of what Hamas did".

"I feel leaders have accepted it as collateral damage and we need to remind people of the heinous slaughter of men, women and children.”

The 79-year-old adds that he's there “to express solidarity with all those who care, whether Jewish or not”.

Emma Bergen has joined the event today from Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire.

The 35-year-old tells us how she and others are “here to bear witness and to stand together to release the hostages".

“There is a collective grief and trauma that cannot be explained about what’s happened. The Jewish community in the UK have felt alone and lonely.”

She adds that she feels worried about her children's future and if they'll feel safe "to stand up and say they are Jewish”.

“There should be more people here standing up for what’s right.”

You can follow live coverage of this event by pressing the watch live button above.

Earlier today, Israel’s ambassador to the UK spoke on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

During the programme, Tzipi Hotovely was asked whether Israel will rule out attacking Iran's nuclear sites - something US President Joe Biden has opposed in recent days.

Hotovely told Laura that Israel will "remove the threat", adding that Iran has attacked it twice - first on 14 April and again just a few days ago.

Those Iranian strikes in April were carried out in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, which killed senior military commanders.

Returning to the idea of "dismantl[ing]" the threat, she says: "this is for the cabinet to decide how."

Hotovely was pushed again on whether Israel's response could include a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"We will do everything that will remove the threat first," she said.

Sally Nabil
Reporting from Beirut

Many centres for displaced people in Beirut say they have ran out of space and can not take any new arrivals. A shelter at a school that can usually house 350 people is now hosting 550.

An elderly woman who fled the south of the city told me: "I am a seamstress, I now live on my little savings.

"I have to be very careful with what I spend, because if I run out of money, how on Earth can I survive?"

Another shelter only has six showers for around 1,000 people, nearly 40% of whom are children. The school is already struggling to provide two meals a day for each person.

Wed Labban, from the Lebanese Food Bank, says they are operating day to day and are unable to make long-term plans.

"Each day we pray to have enough money for the next day," Labban adds.

Local aid organisations say the crisis arising from this conflict is worse than the repercussions of the Beirut port blast four years ago, as it is more widespread and more people have been displaced.

Beirut's mayor says the government was already in financial trouble, even before the conflict started.

This lack of funds has taken its toll on the response.

In northern Israel rocket barrages from Lebanon are continuing to trigger sirens and interception systems.

Overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it stopped around 30 rockets which had been fired into northern Israel.

Sirens have also been heard throughout the day along Israel's western coast from as far north as Haifa and as far south as Hadera, the IDF said on X.

Feras Kilani
BBC Arabic’s special correspondent, reporting from Tyre

Image source, Reuters

At the Lebanese border, heavy bombardment carried out by Israeli fighter jets was almost non-stop this morning - but it does not appear that Hezbollah’s ability to launch hundreds of rockets has been affected.

At 10:00 local time, from our position in the southern Lebanon city of Tyre - about 25km (15 miles) from the Israeli border - we heard the sound of two Hezbollah rockets being launched. A few minutes later, the Israeli army announced that they had intercepted two missiles.

Hezbollah doesn’t allow any media coverage in areas here without a prior arrangement. The list of what is prohibited is much larger than what is allowed, which makes it almost impossible to verify the reality of the situation on the ground and follow the impact of this war on civilians.

In the last two weeks, hundreds of thousands of civilians have left their homes for safer places in the north.

Now, the road from Tyre towards the north, is deserted for about 40km (25 miles) - and those who are still here tell us that they fear “the worst is yet to come".

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

People across Israel are preparing to mark the one-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks - the deadliest day in the country’s history.

Many of the worst-affected communities in the south are organising their own commemoration events.

At Kibbutz Nir Oz, where 46 people were killed, a memorial event will be held in its cemetery and residents will plant “trees of hope”.

Shay Levinson’s mother was killed at the kibbutz and Hamas posted a video of the killing to her own Facebook page.

“As a year has now passed I feel anger. Anger toward the Palestinians and their leadership… Additionally, I feel extreme sadness and disappointment that the hostages have now spent a full year in the Hamas tunnels,” she says.

In the nearby kibbutz of Be’eri, a private memorial event is being planned. “I can’t believe that a year has passed,” one resident tells me.

A large unofficial commemoration event is also being planned in Tel Aviv, though the number of attendees has been limited because of the threat of rocket attacks. A pre-recorded state memorial is expected to air on television tomorrow night.

Here in Jerusalem, the Hostages Families Forum has called for a rally at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.

“We [will] gather to remember, to demand action, and to bring our loved ones home,” the group said in a statement today.

Israelis will also mark the day privately.

“Tomorrow will be a sad day for me and my family because it is a day of remembrance for the terrible massacre”, 52-year-old Tel Aviv resident Lior says.

“In the morning I will go with my children to Hostages Square to [show] support. I will read life stories about the murdered as I have been doing since October 7 in order to remember and not forget.”

Image source, Reuters

Details are continuing to emerge from the scene of an attack on a bus station in southern Israel.

The attack took place close to a McDonald's inside Beersheba's central bus station terminal, which has several shops and restaurants.

We know that one woman has died and some of those being treated for injuries are seriously wounded.

Video footage posted online, which is too graphic for us to share, showed the apparent attacker in a pool of blood.

Israeli media outlets reported he was shot dead soon after the attack began.

Israeli police shared another video which showed a large knife on the ground inside the bus station building.

Image source, MDA

Several people have been injured and a 25-year-old woman has been killed in a shooting attack at a bus station in Israel.

Police say a "suspected terror attack" was carried out in Beersheba in southern Israel in the last hour.

Israel's ambulance service says medics are treating ten casualties, some of whom suffered gunshot wounds.

Police say the attacker has been killed.

Details are still emerging and we will bring you more as we get it.

The Israeli military says it has reinforced security in southern Israel ahead of the anniversary of the 7 October attacks.

A statement says it is on heightened alert for threats in the region this week, and is preparing for possible "defence and offence" operations.

The IDF says extra troops have been deployed to communities close to Gaza.

A number of memorial events are planned to mark one year since Hamas launched deadly raids into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Lebanon's education minister says the country will postpone the start of the school year.

Abbas Halabi says the new start date for more than one million students will be 4 November because of "security risks".

According to information published by Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, Halabi went on say that private universities can resume classes tomorrow depending on their specific circumstances.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq group says it launched drones at three targets in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the early hours, according to a statement shared by Hezbollah.

The group is allied to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups opposed to Israel in the region. They sometimes refer to themselves as the Axis of Resistance.

The IDF has not commented on the report and it is not clear if it caused any damage.

Tom Bennett
Live reporter

On Saturday, we reported on hospital closures taking place across southern Lebanon as a result of Israeli air strikes.

At least four hospitals have suspended operations, capping two weeks of Israeli strikes on hospitals and healthcare workers in Lebanon that have shuttered at least 37 facilities and killed dozens of medical staff, according to the World Health Organisation.

We've since spoken to Dr Mohammad Souleiman, the head of the Salah Ghandour Hospital in Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon, which is run by the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Authority.

He says the Israeli military got in touch at 18:00 local time on Friday and warned that paramedics from the Islamic Health Authority must leave the hospital within four hours.

Two and a half hours later, three shells were fired at the hospital, hitting it directly. Nine medical staff were injured, including five doctors. Four are in a serious condition.

Medical staff then fled the hospital.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday morning that "overnight" it hit a "command centre located inside a mosque" next to the Salah Ghandour Hospital.

The BBC has approached the IDF for comment.

We've just had another update come through from the Israeli military, which says the air force has killed a Hezbollah commander - Khader Ali Tawil.

The statement says that Khader had worked with two others, Muhammad Haidar and Hassan Nathir al-Ra'ini, who were killed earlier in the week.

The Israeli military says that the three had been responsible for an anti-tank missile that hit the town of Kfar Yuval on Israel's northern border in January.

The attack resulted in the deaths of Barak Ayalon, who was part of the town's emergency response squad, and his 76-year-old mother.

Hezbollah has not commented on the Israeli military's statement since it was posted this morning.

Israel looks poised to launch new operations in southern Lebanon after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic-language spokesperson issued fresh evacuation alerts.

Avichay Adraee has called on residents of around 25 villages in southern Lebanon to leave.

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, installations or weapons is putting his life in danger," he says.

"Village residents, you must evacuate your homes," he adds, while saying they should "move immediately north of the Awali River" - located just north of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

"We will inform you of the appropriate and safe time to return to your homes," Adraee adds.