Lebanon's transport ministry has told an Iranian aircraft not to enter its airspace after Israel warned air traffic control in Beirut that it would use "force" if the plane landed, according to Reuters news agency.

The ministry source said it was not clear what was on the plane.

"The priority is people's lives," the source added.

• For context: This warning comes after the Israeli military said it had killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. The group has received strong backing from Iran, both financially and militarily, for many years and is allied with Hamas, which is part of Iran's so-called "Axis of Resistance".

Is a wider Middle East war now inevitable?published at 11:52 British Summer Time 28 September

11:52 BST 28 September

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

No, but the chances have just increased dramatically in the last 24 hours.

The very reason why a consortium of 12 countries, including allies and partners of Israel, were pushing for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon was to lower the temperature and reduce the risk of this conflict spreading further across the Middle East.

But Israel has clearly decided it has now got Hezbollah on the ropes and wants to press home its advantage, whatever the cost.

So now the key question is what will Iran do.

It is in danger of watching the destruction of its key ally in the region, Hezbollah, but also the deterrent which Hezbollah's missiles offer.

Various missiles, their launches and the people who operate them have certainly been depleted in the last week but many of them remain intact, including long-range precision-guided missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv and other cities.

Both Hezbollah and Iran know that if they do unleash those missiles on Israeli cities, that will almost certainly incur two things: a severe retaliation by Israel against Iran itself, and it could well bring in the US - which has warships stationed offshore equipped with batteries of cruise missiles.

It is also likely that we could now see a greater involvement by Iranian- backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Diplomats will be doing their best to try and calm the situation but right now Israel appears to be determined to finish off Hezbollah as a threat to its people.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

We've just had the first remarks from Iran's Supreme Leader since Israel said it had killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

As a reminder, the Lebanon-based group has received strong backing from Iran, both financially and militarily, for many years.

Published on the official website, Ayatollah Khamenei did not mention Nasrallah at all in his statement.

He began by first condemning the killing of "the defenceless people of Lebanon", saying that "it proved the short-sightedness and foolish policies of the leaders" of Israel.

Israeli “criminals must know that they are far too small to cause any significant damage on the strongholds of Hezbollah in Lebanon," Khamenei said adding: "All the Resistance forces in the region support and stand alongside Hezbollah."

He also urged all Muslims to stand alongside the people of Lebanon and Hezbollah and support them in "confronting the usurping and oppressive regime".

As we've been reporting throughout the morning, the Israeli military said it has killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

In a statement, it said he was killed in a "targeted strike" alongside other senior members of the Lebanon-based group - including Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front.

The IDF says the strike was carried out on the militant group's central headquarters in Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut.

We've mapped that out below:

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

The news from the Israeli military, that the powerful and long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an air strike in Beirut, is still being digested by this country - and we still haven’t had any official statement from Hezbollah.

This is obviously significant.

Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organisation by the UK, the US and others, is more than a militia. It is also a political party, with representation in Lebanon's parliament, and part of the government. It has a significant support base and it is part of the Lebanese society.

We don’t know how Hezbollah is going to respond. We’ve seen that Hezbollah hasn’t yet deployed its more sophisticated missiles, including precision guided missiles that can strike deep inside Israel.

The indications have been that the group wasn’t interested in a major confrontation with Israel that could lead to the destruction of its infrastructure and the assassination of its key leaders. This is exactly what has happened, so I think there is a big unanswered question.

There has also been the concern that any kind of wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could force other Iranian-backed groups across the region to join Hezbollah in this fight.

It is a very dangerous moment in the Middle East with unpredictable consequences.

Image source, EPA

In the last hour, the Israel Defense Forces released a statement saying it has killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Here's what we know so far:

• The IDF said at around 09:00 BST that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed in a "targeted strike" on the militant group's central headquarters in Dahieh, in southern Beirut
• The Iranian-backed group has not yet released a statement in response to the IDF's claim
• Other Hezbollah officials - including the commander of its southern front - were also killed in the strike, the IDF said
• Before this update this morning, the US said they had "no indication" of Nasrallah's status, an official told the BBC's US partner, CBS News
• While we've been reporting on this development, cross-border strikes between Israel and Lebanon have been continuing - we'll bring you more on that shortly

Israel throws down the gauntlet to Iranpublished at 10:00 British Summer Time 28 September

10:00 BST 28 September

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

The targeting of the Hezbollah leader by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is a massive escalation and poses a major provocation to the group’s backer, Iran.

Until now, Iran has largely stayed on the sidelines of the recent flare-up in conflict between Israel and Hezbollah but the Islamic Republic now risks watching the systematic dismemberment of its key ally in the Middle East.

Hassan Nasrallah has headed Hezbollah since 1992, appointing loyal commanders who helped turn it from a small local militia into arguably the most potent non-state force in the world.

With help from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Nasrallah oversaw the build-up of a huge arsenal of missiles, much of which survives today underground.

But without him and so many senior commanders recently assassinated by Israel, the organisation will be severely damaged, both in reputation and in capability.

There will be calls for revenge and all eyes will now be on Iran to see how it reacts.

This Israeli action is massively escalatorypublished at 09:48 British Summer Time 28 September

09:48 BST 28 September

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor

The Israeli claim to have killed the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will reinforce their belief that this is their greatest triumph yet against their great enemy.

They have mobilised more soldiers, they seem to want to pick up the pace and may even be thinking about a ground incursion into Lebanon.

This Israeli action is massively escalatory.

Over the last 11 months, there has been an ongoing tit-for-tat between both sides, though with more pressure from the Israelis.

But now they have decided they are going to push, and they will be delighted with what they have done, because, unlike the war against Hamas, which they did not expect, they have been planning this war since 2006 and are now putting those plans into effect.

There are massive challenges now for Hezbollah, whether or not this report from the Israeli military regarding their leader is correct.

Their rockets have been landing again in Israeli territory this morning and targeting areas further south, so they are pushing back – but this is a massively uncertain period and that’s part of the danger.

The predictability of the war of attrition that went on for months and months meant people knew where they were. They absolutely do not now.

A little more now from that clip the IDF's Chief of Staff just shared - an edited 52-second video of what appears to be a briefing alongside other army officials.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says that "in the end, after a lot of preparation", the Israeli military "activated" their plan in Lebanon to target Nasrallah and Hezbollah's headquarters in a strike.

"It was the right time, [we] did it in a very precise way."

"This is not the end of our toolbox, we have to be very clear. We have more capacity going forward," Halevi says.

• Who is Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's militant Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement?

Image source, IDF

The IDF's Chief of Staff, Lt Gen. Herzi Halevi, has just put out a video message.

“The message is very clear, whoever threatens Israeli citizens we know how get [them], in the north, south, or further away."

This video clip was posted on the IDF's social platforms shortly after it released a statement saying Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed.

Image source, Reuters

Some more now on the IDF's statement that the leader of Hezbollah has been killed.

In the statement, it says that other senior members of the Iran-backed group were killed in addition to Hassan Nasrallah - including the commander of Hezbollah's southern front.

The IDF says that fighter jets conducted a "targeted strike" on the central headquarters of Hezbollah, which it says were located "underground embedded under a residential building in the area of Dahieh in Beirut".

It adds that the strike was conducted while the group's "senior chain of command" was operating from the suburb of Dahieh in southern Beirut - a stronghold of the armed group.

As a reminder, we've not yet had a comment through from Hezbollah.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been killed.

In a statement shared on the IDF's X account, it says: "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."

The statement follows a series of overnight strikes in Beirut which Israel said were targeting Nasrallah and other Hezbollah commanders.

Image source, EPA

We've been reporting throughout the morning that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of Friday's strikes on Beirut, an Israeli military source has told the BBC.

There are still conflicting reports regarding his fate.

As a reminder, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's militant Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement, is one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East.

Nasrallah has not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.

A shadowy figure with close personal links to Iran, he played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today - and remains revered by the group's supporters.

Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah has helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.

• Read our full profile on Hassan Nasrallah

Image source, Getty Images

It's been a long night in Beirut for people fleeing southern Lebanon.

Our colleagues at BBC Radio 4's Today programme have just recently spoken with Ettie Higgins, Unicef deputy representative to Lebanon, who explains how the UN agency has over 500 shelters running to help support displaced people.

She reports seeing "thousands upon thousands" leaving the southern suburbs of Beirut - some sleeping in parks, on streets or in cars.

Children are "absolutely terrified", Higgins continues, and some of the evacuation orders were issued at 03:00 local time (01:00 BST).

"They're in need of absolutely everything from water right to food to clothing and of course shelter."

They've also come across children who are unaccompanied and separated from families.

For one child they found yesterday, 15 members of their family had been killed.

We've had some updates from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) within the last hour - including that air force fighter jets have "extensively attacked" Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley.

A bit earlier, we reported that the IDF were carrying out strikes on the Hezbollah stronghold in north-east Lebanon.

Weapons storage, military buildings and launchers aimed at Israel were among the targets and the IDF will continue to carry out strikes in Lebanese territory, the statement says.

An earlier update from the IDF said that five rockets fired from Lebanon were identified following warnings in northern Israel.

Some of those rockets were intercepted, the Israeli military says.

As we've been reporting, there have been a number of Israeli strikes on Lebanon overnight and into this morning.

Our colleagues on the ground in Beirut have said that displaced people have spent parts of the night in the streets.

Here are some of the initial images from the city this morning.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Lebanon's health ministry has ordered hospitals in Beirut and its surrounding area to prepare to evacuate the suburb's hospitals and receive their patients.

In a statement, released from ministry this morning, it says that the capital, Mount Lebanon and the areas "not affected by the Israeli aggression" should stop taking "non-emergency cold cases" until the end of next week.

It comes as Israeli continued to strike the region on Saturday morning.

The ministry are also calling on hospitals to prepare for patients who have been displaced during the night.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

For several hours overnight, the Israeli military carried out a wave of air strikes on Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut.

After warning residents to evacuate, the army said it targeted locations including weapons production facilities and storage sites that, it said, were under civilian housing. Hezbollah, in a statement, rejected this.

Fleeing their homes carrying only bags and rucksacks, thousands of people have congregated in streets and squares in central Beirut.

These attacks followed the most powerful Israeli airstrikes on the city in this conflict, apparently targeting Hezbollah’s long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah.

There has been no confirmation about his fate.

Several buildings were flattened and rescuers worked throughout the night searching the rubble for survivors.

This marks a sharp escalation in the violence between Israel and Hezbollah, with unpredictable consequences.

For almost a year, there has been concern that something like this could spark a wider regional conflict, involving other Iranian-backed groups in the region.

Hezbollah has been severely weakened, following days of widespread air strikes and assassinations, but it remains a strong force, with a vast arsenal of missiles capable of inflicting massive damage and suffering on Israel. It has not deployed those weapons yet, and is probably deciding how it will respond.

This morning, there are two unanswered questions: whether Hassan Nasrallah is still alive, and if the Middle East will be engulfed by war.

The Reuters news agency is currently reporting that an Israeli strike has hit Bhamdoun - a mountain town in Lebanon that is located to the southeast of Beirut.

Reuters cites a Lebanese lawmaker in the area - Mark Daou - who tells the agency that the extent of the damage is not yet known.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has posted an update in the last few moments saying it is currently "attacking" Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley.

The area is a Hezbollah stronghold in north-east Lebanon.

It follows on from an earlier update that said that, following alerts sounding in the West Bank, a rocket had been detected crossing from Lebanon.

It fell into open area, the IDF said.