Israel tells the US it plans to launch a limited ground incursion into Lebanon as soon as Monday, a US official says
Hezbollah's deputy leader says it's ready for an Israeli ground offensive, as Israel continues air strikes across Lebanon
It's the first speech by a high-ranking official since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Naim Qassem says the battle "may be long"
In Lebanon, officials say more than 1,000 have been killed in the past two weeks, while up to a million people may now be displaced
A senior member of Hezbollah's intelligence has been killed in a military strike, Reuters news agency reports.
The Israeli military said it killed Hassan Khalil Yassin on Saturday in southern Beirut.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Monitoring
More detail on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments.
He said the resistance front's attacks on "worn-out and declining" Israel will become "even more powerful".
Khamenei said Nasrallah was killed while "engaged in planning to defend the helpless people of the southern suburbs of Beirut and their destroyed homes, as well as the precious lives lost".
Iran's supreme leader said although the resistance front has lost an “outstanding standard-bearer” and Lebanon lost an “unparalleled leader”, Hezbollah will become stronger.
Khamenei also expressed condolences to Nasrallah’s family, to the resistance front and to the entire Islamic holy community.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has just declared five days of mourning for Hassan Nasrallah.
He said the Hezbollah chief's blood "will not go unavenged".
David Gritten
BBC News
As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, it carries with it the potential to draw in other Iran-backed forces in the Middle East.
As we just reported, both the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza have recommitted their support for the Lebanese group in the wake of Hassan Nasrallah’s death.
An alliance of Iraqi Shia militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) has meanwhile claimed that it carried out several new drone attacks on Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
All three are part of a wide network of Iran-backed armed groups operating in countries across the Middle East. They are opposed to Israel and the US, and sometimes refer to themselves as the “Axis of Resistance”, though the extent of Iran’s influence over them is not clear.
The US says co-ordination is overseen by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its overseas arm, the Quds Force. Both are designated by the US as terrorist organisations, as are a number of the regional armed groups.
The groups have dramatically stepped up their attacks against Israel, US forces and other linked targets since the start of the war in Gaza in October, in what they say is a demonstration of their solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israeli and US-led forces have responded to some of those attacks with air strikes.
Image source, EPAProtesters hold pictures of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during an anti-Israel protest in Palestine Square in Tehran
The Israel Defense Forces say they have just intercepted a missile "launched from Yemen".
In a post on X, the military says it stopped the incoming missile outside Israeli territory.
The Reuters news agency are reporting large bangs were heard.
For those of you less familiar with the geography of what we have been covering today, let's zoom out to give you some context on where Israel has been striking Hezbollah.
Lebanon shares most of its border with Syria and with northern Israel - where cross-border attacks have been occurring for years.
To the west is the Mediterranean Sea, which is where the capital city Beirut is located.
Now, let's zoom in a bit closer on Beirut and in particular focus on the southern suburbs of the capital where we know Israel has carried out a series of deadly strikes in recent days.
Dahieh, highlighted below, is a densely populated neighbourhood which is also a stronghold for Hezbollah.
It is also just north of Beirut's international airport.
Orla Guerin
BBC News, reporting from Beirut
Image source, ReutersThe aftermath of airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut
Throughout the day, we have been driving through Dahieh, the Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut.
Black smoke could still be seen rising a few hours ago from one recent air strike.
Here and there, people were on the move carrying bags, apparently leaving the area.
The two busiest streets in Dahieh were largely deserted.
We spotted two Hezbollah members, with visible weapons, guarding one of the air strike locations.
Staying in Beiruit, let's turn to the humanitarian impact of Israel's latest strikes.
Photos are just coming through to us now, which show groups of people huddling in city squares who fled to the capital from Lebanon's south.
Image source, ReutersMany families spent the night at Martyr's Square in Beirut after fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in the southern parts of the capital
Image source, ReutersA child carries Styrofoam pieces to use them for shelter
Image source, ReutersHeavy bombing by Israel has killed more than 700 people and displaced around 118,000
Image source, ReutersThousands of people have congregated in squares, parks and pavements in downtown Beirut and seaside areas
Carine Torbey
BBC Arabic correspondent, in Beirut
We were talking to some of the displaced in Ain al-Mraysseh, a neighbourhood in Beirut, when Hezbollah confirmed the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Many could not handle the news.
Some collapsed on the floor, others started shouting, running in all directions and crying.
One lady said: “I wish they killed us all and kept him”.
Another said: “How could I ever go back to Dahieh knowing Sayyed [Hassan Nasrallah] isn’t there anymore”.
The shock is massive. Nasrallah wasn’t just the top leader for his large base of supporters - he was an idol.
Not everyone in Beirut is a Hezbollah supporter - but in some streets, people fired bullets in the air as a sign of anger and sadness.
In a recent update from Lebanon's health ministry, it says that 11 people were killed on Friday as a result of Israeli air strikes in southern Beirut.
Officials add that 108 people are known to have been injured.
In a separate update this afternoon, the ministry has set out a hotline specifically for cancer patients - saying they would be transferring those who are receiving radiotherapy to day treatment departments.
Image source, ReutersA view shows the damage in the aftermath of Israeli air strikes on Beirut's southern suburb on Friday
Image source, XFootage
BBC Verify has been analysing footage of yesterday evening's strikes which are now known to have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The sheer scale of the explosions ensured that there were numerous videos shot from multiple vantage points. These allowed us to triangulate the precise location.
One early clip, filmed from the runway of Beirut airport, showed several plumes of smoke rising from a distant location due north. While we could not confirm a precise location at such a distance, the footage confirmed that the strikes had taken place in a similar area to other Israeli strikes on southern Beirut over the previous week.
Another striking clip, filmed through a window, showed numerous explosions at much closer proximity.
Visible solar panels and the shape of nearby rooves were compared with publicly available satellite imagery to get a better sense of the location. The footage also confirmed that there were multiple strikes – which is vital information for assessing the extent of damage.
As the evening wore on, footage from the ground showed at least two buildings had collapsed close to a main road called Burj el-Brajne. There are reports that a number of other buildings were also destroyed, which we are seeking to confirm.
We also await fresh satellite imagery of the area which will give a much fuller assessment of the extent of the strikes.
Image source, ReutersThe office for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, pictured here earlier this week, announced three days of mourning over the death of Hassan Nasrallah
Let's bring you some more comments from other countries and groups in the Middle East who have been reacting to the news of Hassan Nasrallah's death.
Jiyar Gol
BBC World Affairs correspondent
Iranian officials report that Abbas Nilforushan, the deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) operations, was killed in yesterday's attack in Beirut.
As a reminder, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) was set up 40 years ago to defend the country's Islamic system, and to provide a counterweight to the regular armed forces.
We're hearing now from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, who alongside Lebanon-based Hezbollah is backed by Iran both militarily and financially.
In a statement from the Gaza-based group, it says it mourns the death of Hezbollah's leader and that it stands in "solidarity with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon".
While the Israel-Hezbollah conflict has been going on for decades, the current war between them started after Hamas gunmen launched an attack from Gaza on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people.
Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began escalating on 8 October 2023 - the day after the unprecedented attack.
Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions in solidarity with the Palestinians and says it will continue fighting Israel until a ceasefire in Gaza is met.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari has just given a televised address after Hassan Nasrallah's death was confirmed by both Hezbollah and the IDF.
Let's bring you some of the key lines from his address, which was first heard in Hebrew and then in English:
Jeremy Bowen
International Editor
In Israel, the killing of Hasan Nasrallah will be seen as a huge victory.
For more than 30 years he has been the beating heart of Hezbollah. With the aid of his close allies in Iran, he turned Hezbollah into a fighting force that in 2000 forced Israel to end a two-decade occupation of south Lebanon.
In 2006, he led Hezbollah as it fought Israel to a standstill.
Nasrallah has been Israel’s biggest single enemy – in recent years, only Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Hamas attack on Israel in October last year, has come close.
Against the wishes of its American allies, Israel has taken the fight to Hezbollah after almost a year of an attritional border war.
In the last few weeks Israel has activated a war plan it has been working on since the last war with Hezbollah ended in 2006.
Israel has inflicted huge damage on its enemy in Lebanon. Killing its leader is the biggest blow of all.
The question now is how Hezbollah – and Iran – will respond. They might now be concluding that if they don’t hit back hard they will be facing a strategic defeat.
The uncertainty and danger in the Middle East is why the US and Israel’s western allies tried to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire to create a pause for diplomacy.
It’s too late for that now.
Image source, EPAHassan Nasrallah, pictured here in 2006, was killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut
Hezbollah has just confirmed the death of its leader - Hassan Nasrallah. Here are some of the other key developments from the last few hours:
Some more now from Hezbollah, who just released a lengthy Telegram post confirming its leader - Hassan Nasrallah - has "passed away".
"His Eminence, the Master of Resistance, the righteous servant, has passed away to be with his Lord," the statement says.
The group seemed to confirm that he had died in air strikes on Beirut, saying his death had come "following the treacherous Zionist raid on the southern suburb".
The group also went on to "pledge" its fight against Israel and continued support of "Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people".
In a statement released just moments ago, Hezbollah says its leader Hassan Nasrallah is dead.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it had killed the Iran-backed group's leader in Friday's strike on Beirut.
We'll have more on this update shortly.
Separately, the European Union is warning airlines to avoid Lebanese and Israeli airspace for the next month.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an official recommendation "not to operate within the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel at all flight levels," provisionally until 31 October.
"EASA will continue to closely monitor the situation, with a view to assess whether there is an increase or decrease of risks for EU aircraft operators as a result of the evolution of the threat," the body said.