Early this morning, the Israeli Prime Minister's office released a statement seeking to "clarify a few points" around what it called "a lot of misreporting around the US-led ceasefire initiative".

The statement outlines that Israel "shares the aims of the US-led initiative of enabling people along our northern border to return safely and securely to their homes".

It adds that teams met on Thursday, and says discussions will be continued in the coming days.

The statement follows allies including the US, UK and the EU calling for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon - proposing an immediate 21 day pause in fighting "to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement" and a ceasefire in Gaza.

By Thursday, the proposal had been roundly rejected by Israeli politicians including foreign minister Israel Katz who said "there will be no ceasefire in the north".

The White House later said the ceasefire proposal had been "coordinated" with Israel, despite Netanyahu's assertion, just hours later, that his country would continue fighting.

Nathan Williams
Live page editor

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said negotiations on a ceasefire in southern Lebanon will continue despite his insistence that the IDF maintains its offensive against Hezbollah.

Early this morning, he released a statement saying, "Israel shares the aims of the US-led initiative of enabling people along our northern border to return safely and securely to their homes."

On Thursday, the Biden administration said a ceasefire proposal had been "coordinated" with Israel, despite Netanyahu's assertion, just hours later, that his country would continue fighting.

Lebanon’s health ministry said that at least 92 people were killed in Israeli air strikes yesterday – in addition to hundreds they say have been killed since the strikes escalated on Monday.

This morning there are reports that cross-border attacks are continuing.

Stay with us and we'll bring you all the latest.

The Israel Defence Forces says it has successfully intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, after air raid sirens were heard in central Israel a short time ago.

For context: Yemen's Houthi movement have periodically been firing drones and missiles towards Israel since the war in Gaza broke out. Most have been intercepted, but one man was killed in July after a drone hit Tel Aviv, and a missile landed in an uninhabited area of central Israel earlier this month.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed rebel group, have not commented on tonight's missile interception.

More now from Starmer, who uses his UN address to call for an "immediate ceasefire to provide space for a diplomatic settlement" to resolve the conflict in Lebanon.

He cautions that there will otherwise be "more suffering for innocent people on all sides and the prospect of a wider war that no one can control and with consequences that none of us can foresee".

Starmer also repeats his calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

"It shames us all that the suffering in Gaza continues to grow," the prime minister adds.

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells the United Nations General Assembly in New York that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict could spill over into a war "no one can control".

Starmer says that "further escalation serves no one" and calls for both sides to "stop the violence" and "step back from the brink" of a full-scale war.

Image source, EPA

Last night at the UN, a 12-strong bloc of allies pushed for a 21-day ceasefire between the armed group Hezbollah and Israel. Today, the fighting continued.

Here are today’s key lines from the conflict:

• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli military to keep fighting with “full force” against Hezbollah, and his office said he had not responded to the ceasefire proposal

• Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah continued, with Lebanon’s health ministry saying at least 92 people were killed by Israeli air strikes today. No deaths from Hezbollah fire were reported in Israel

• The head of Hezbollah's drone unit, Mohammad Surur, was killed in a strike on an apartment building in the south of Beirut. Israel's military said it was responsible for his death

• More than 27,000 people have fled Lebanon in the past three days - and more than 70,000 internally displaced people have taken refuge in 500 shelters set up across the country, Lebanon's interior minister said

• An Israeli air force commander told troops earlier that they should be “prepared” to support a “ground manoeuvre” into Lebanon

• Yesterday’s international ceasefire call was “co-ordinated” with Israel, despite Netanyahu’s apparent rejection of the proposal, according to the US government

Hezbollah has confirmed the killing of the head of its drone unit, Mohammad Surur, in an update on Telegram.

The group did not add any details about how he died. Earlier, the Israeli military said Surur was killed after air force fighter jets carried out a strike on Beirut.

Let's turn now to look at the latest developments in conflict between the Israeli military and Hamas in the Gaza Strip today:

• A spokesperson for the Palestinian civil defence authority rescue service said 15 people, including women and children, were killed in a strike on a school in northern Gaza - the Israeli military said it carried out precision strikes targeting militants operating inside
• The bodies of 88 unidentified Palestinians were buried in mass graves after being returned by Israel - according to Palestinian officials, there was no information provided about the names or ages of the victims or locations where they died. Israel says it conducts identification processes and that bodies determined not to be hostages are returned "with dignity and respect"

• The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said the total number of Palestinians killed since 7 October has risen to at least 41,534 - with 96,092 others injured. The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN Israel has "almost entirely destroyed" Gaza, saying the area is "no longer fit for life"

Lebanon's health ministry has just issued a casualty update for the last day, saying 92 people have been killed by Israeli strikes around the country.

It also says 153 people have been wounded in these attacks.

President Emmanuel Macron says France opposes Lebanon becoming a "new Gaza", repeating his calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Macron adds that believes it would be a mistake for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refuse a deal. Netanyahu is yet to respond to the ceasefire calls but he earlier told Israeli military to keep fighting with "full force" against Hezbollah.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, Macron says Israel must end its campaign of air strikes and calls on Hezbollah to stop retaliating.

What is the link between Hezbollah and Iran?published at 21:37 British Summer Time 26 September

21:37 BST 26 September

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

It’s close, extremely close, but that doesn’t mean they always act in concert together.

Hezbollah - Arabic for "party of God" - is a powerful Lebanese militant and political organisation, set up by Iran in 1982 as a proxy militia to carry the torch of Iran’s Islamic Revolution into the Arab world.

Accused of bombing Western targets in Beirut in 1983, Hezbollah is proscribed by several governments, including the UK, as a terrorist entity.

Iran and Hezbollah share the same virulent, anti-Western, anti-Israel ideology, the same religion - Shia Islam - and the same culture of venerating martyrdom.

Hezbollah could not have reached its current status as the most powerful non-state army in the Middle East without massive help from Tehran.

Financially, it is believed to be supported by annual assistance of between $700m and $1bn (£522m-746m).

Hezbollah religious leaders visit Qom in Iran and Iranian mullahs visit Lebanon.

But it is in the flow of arms where their strategic partnership is the most critical. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has overseen a constant flow of advanced weaponry - missiles, drones, mines and rockets - to its ally, mostly transiting through Syria, whose government is also an Iranian partner.

Periodically, the Israeli Air Force interdicts these shipments but much of it still gets through.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has just issued an update, saying air force fighter jets have hit around 220 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the last day.

It says among those targets were "terrorist infrastructure sites, launchers from which projectiles were fired toward Israeli territory, Hezbollah terrorists and weapons storage facilities".

"The IDF is continuing to operate to degrade and dismantle Hezbollah's terrorist capabilities and infrastructure," the statement adds.

Image source, EVN

Earlier we heard from refugees sheltering in a school in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon.

It's become a temporary shelter for hundreds who've fled their homes, many of whom say they haven't had time to take any belongings.

One boy, Ali Mohammed, told EVN News that 20 houses in his village had been destroyed as a result of Israeli strikes. "When we left, the bombs came from all sides," he said.

Image source, EVN

"There is no safe place in Lebanon," said Fatima Hammoud.

"Many people have been bombed in their own homes, causing enormous stress and anxiety. Even now you can hear bombing. We can't take any more."

Discussions ongoing at UN to keep ceasefire talks alivepublished at 20:39 British Summer Time 26 September

20:39 BST 26 September

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent, in New York

The international proposal for a three-week ceasefire may have been roundly dismissed by Israeli politicians.

But behind the scenes at the United Nations, discussions are still ongoing to keep the idea alive.

Benjamin Netanyahu is in town and is due to meet a string of world leaders who are expected to bend his ear.

US officials are talking to Israeli officials. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to meet Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister, Ron Dermer. The White House has responded to domestic Israeli criticism of the plan by making clear that the ceasefire statement - signed by the US, G7 and Gulf countries - was “co-ordinated” with Israel. In other words, it came as no surprise and was agreed in the expectation that Israel would take it seriously.

Last night Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, made clear his country was “open to ideas”.

The argument international leaders are making is that all-out war would not in fact make northern Israel safe, but a negotiated settlement would. Western diplomats are taking comfort from the fact Netanyahu has not himself explicitly ruled out a ceasefire.

They know he has to balance the international pressure he is facing here with the domestic pressure he is under at home. What is uncertain is which way he will jump.

Image source, Reuters

Throughout today, Israeli officials have rejected international appeals to agree to a 21-day ceasefire with Hezbollah, with allies including the US, UK and EU, calling for a diplomatic solution.

Several residents across northern Israeli border towns say they want the threat completely gone.

"When you give them 21 days, they [Hezbollah] will regroup again. They will bring new missiles. I do not believe in them," says Gil Jakov, a shoe shop owner from the town of Nahariya - less than 10km (6.2 miles) from the border with Lebanon.

Sivan Klinghoffer, who works in the border town of Shlomi, tells Reuters: “Personally, I'm happy that the government has started to do something in Lebanon, that we're handling this situation and not just letting it happen."

Image source, Reuters

The international call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was "co-ordinated" with Israel, the US says, despite Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's apparent rejection of the proposal.

Earlier today, a statement from Netanyahu's office said he "had not even responded" to last night's ceasefire proposal, drawn up at the UN by a 12-strong bloc of allies.

Despite this, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the proposal "was indeed co-ordinated with the Israeli side".

At a press briefing in Washington, Jean-Pierre tells reporters that talks between US and Israeli officials are ongoing at the UN General Assembly in New York.

"They're having those discussions," she says, adding that "diplomatic resolution is key".

"The tensions needs to stop," she adds. "We need to get to a ceasefire and so that is what we're trying to get to here."

The Israeli military says it is currently carrying out further strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

We'll try to bring you more when further details are available.

Image source, EPA

Israel's air force is preparing to assist troops in the event of a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, says the commander of the Israeli air force.

Maj Gen Tomer Bar says in a video shared by the military that the decision to launch a joint manoeuvre on Lebanese soil is not his to make. "Prepared, if activated," he says. "This is a decision to be made above us."

The air force's current aim is to stop arms transfers from Iran to Hezbollah, he adds, as the militant group "depends on the supply coming from Iran".

Yesterday, Israel’s military chief told troops that extensive air strikes in Lebanon targeting the armed group Hezbollah could pave the way for them to “enter enemy territory”.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from New York

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has renewed his call for an end to the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, and demanded a halt to the supply of American weapons to Israel.

Abbas took to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and before formally addressing delegates he repeated three times the words “we will not leave” - a reference to Palestinian resolve not to be forced further from the land amid the war in Gaza and Israeli settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.

He repeatedly castigated Israel and said it is committing genocide in Gaza, something he said is also now being inflicted on Lebanon.

In pointed remarks at Washington, which backs the Palestinian Authority (PA) he leads, Abbas criticised the continuing US weapons supply to Israel whilst also blocking UN Security Council resolutions that called for a ceasefire earlier in the conflict.

He made no mention of Hamas - bitter rivals of the secular Fatah party Abbas leads - but did refer to their 7 October attacks on Israel and said that he condemns the killing of civilians on any side.

He called for the release of prisoners, and referred to the more than 6,000 Palestinians held by Israel.

The 88-year-old president remains in control of an ailing and domestically unpopular PA, with his leadership having gone years beyond its original four-year mandate - as no Palestinian general elections have been held in nearly two decades.

The PA under his leadership has repeatedly been accused by rights groups of growing intolerance of internal dissent and free expression.

Image source, Reuters

If you're only just joining us, here's a brief run through what's happened today:

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has killed the head of one of Hezbollah's air units, Mohammad Hussein Surur, after conducting an air strike in Beirut. The Lebanese health ministry says two people were killed and 15 others were injured in the attack
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his army will continue to fight "with full force" to eradicate Hezbollah
• Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire last night and this morning, and the Lebanese health ministry says another 28 people were killedby Israeli air strikes today.

• The Iran-backed armed group says it has fired another 80 missiles at northern Israel, targeting the city of Safed. The Israeli police say there have been no reports of casualties in Safed and Rosh Pina after the attack, but there's been significant property damage in the area

• US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin renews calls for a diplomatic solution after Washington joined 11 allies in urging Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire

Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest developments from our correspondents on the ground in Beirut, northern Israel and Jerusalem.