Israel says 10 missiles crossed from Lebanon into the country's north this afternoon.

"Following the sirens that sounded between 16:44 (14:44 GMT) and 16:45 in the Haifa Bay area, five projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were intercepted by the IAF (Israeli air force)," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says in a statement.

It adds that another five missiles were fired into the Upper and Western Galilee, some of which were intercepted.

Meanwhile, the IDF issued another evacuation notice for Beirut ahead of strikes in the Lebanese capital.

Israel's security cabinet has started its meeting on a potential ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, AFP reports - citing an official.

The meeting is expected to last a number of hours.

Lebanon's foreign minister earlier expressed hope that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah would be agreed by tonight.

Israeli media reports also suggest a statement might be made later this evening.

G7 foreign ministers have called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Lebanon, as Israel's security cabinet was preparing to discuss a Hezbollah ceasefire deal.

"We support the ongoing negotiation for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah," the ministers said in a statement.

"Now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said a "window of opportunity" was opening up, adding that he hoped those involved would seize that opportunity.

Israel's military says it has struck 20 targets in two minutes during its latest attack on Beirut.

In a statement on X, the Israel Defense Forces adds that eight fighter jets carried out strikes on what it says was a Hezbollah aerial defence unit centre, an intelligence centre, command centre and weapons storage facilities.

"Seven other targets struck were components of Hezbollah's financial system", the statement says.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

Israel has carried out what appears to be the largest wave yet of air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, just before the Israeli security cabinet was expected to discuss a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The multiple attacks hit Dahieh, the area where Hezbollah is based in the capital, and came after the Israeli military issued evacuations warnings for 20 buildings. Footage broadcast on TV showed a dramatic picture of multiple plumes of smoke rising from the area.

About 30 minutes earlier, an air strike hit Nuweiri, in central Beirut, without warning, which indicates a possible assassination attempt.

There has been no comment from the Israeli army.

At least one building collapsed, and images showed crowds searching the rubble. At least three people have been killed and more than 20 others injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

This escalation happens just hours before a ceasefire could be announced. Israel has also carried out attacks in the south of the country, while Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets into Israel.

Image source, Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that is extensively attacking Hezbollah targets in the Beirut area.

It comes after the IDF issued fresh evacuation orders for residents in the city's southern suburbs.

We'll bring you more details as we get them.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has just issued another evacuation warning to residents of Beirut's southern suburb.

In a post on X, the IDF shares two maps of the area and says its message is specifically for those who reside or work "in the buildings specified in the attached maps and the buildings adjacent to them".

"You are located near Hezbollah facilities and interests, against which the IDF will act forcefully in the near future.

"For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them at a distance of no less than 500m (1,640ft)," the IDF says.

On Tuesday morning, the IDF issued a similar warning for the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital before striking the area.

Separately, a huge explosion was earlier heard in central Beirut, Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega says, adding that there was no warning issued by Israel's military ahead of the attack.

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Reports in Israel say that its security cabinet looks set to approve a US plan for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon when it meets this afternoon.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has expressed hope that a deal can be reached by tonight.

Even with smoke caused by Israeli air strikes rising in the skies over southern Beirut and Hezbollah continuing to fire rockets at northern Israel, there is optimism a ceasefire could soon be agreed.

Officials say the plan is for Israeli soldiers to withdraw from southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese army would deploy there within 60 days.

Hezbollah would end its armed presence within 20 miles (30 km) of the Israeli border.

While a key Israeli far-right minister opposes the deal, it’s expected to be approved by the security cabinet.

Defence Minister Israel Katz says his country will demand an effective UN enforcement of any ceasefire agreement and show "zero tolerance" towards any violation.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

A huge explosion was heard in central Beirut at around 14:30 local time (12:30 GMT).

We could see a huge plume of black smoke from our live position.

There was no warning issued by the Israeli military ahead of the attack.

Image source, Reuters

Lebanon's foreign minister has expressed hope that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah will be agreed by tonight.

Speaking at a G7 meeting in Italy, Abdallah Bou Habib says Lebanon "as a whole is paralysed".

"Hopefully tonight, by tonight, we will have this ceasefire," he adds.

He hopes the process will lead to talks that will "settle once and for all the borders between us and Israel".

Israel's military says it carried out strikes on six Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut earlier today.

The targets included infrastructure sites used by Hezbollah's coast-to-coast sea missile unit, command centres and additional infrastructure in the Dahieh area, which is considered to be an area controlled by Hezbollah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says in a statement.

It adds that steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians - referencing an evacuation order that was issued for several buildings in southern Beirut prior to the strike.

"These strikes are a part of the IDF's ongoing efforts to dismantle Hezbollah's military capabilities," the statement reads.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the attack.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, here's the latest on Israel and Lebanon:

• The Israeli security cabinet is set to discuss a 60-day ceasefire that would temporarily end hostilities with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that's based in Lebanon
• Reports in Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the terms of the deal "in principle"
• The EU's foreign policy chief is urging leaders to put pressure on Israel to support the proposal
• Israeli strikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, shortly after its military issued an evacuation order for the area - the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not yet commented
• Overnight, Israel carried out strikes on the border between Lebanon and Syria, while the IDF says Hezbollah launched rockets on Israel's north - Hezbollah has not yet commented on that attack
• On Monday, 31 people were killed across Lebanon in Israeli air strikes, the country's health ministry says

A tough recovery lies ahead for Lebanonpublished at 11:24 Greenwich Mean Time

11:24 GMT

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

For days, Lebanese officials have expressed cautious optimism that a ceasefire deal is possible, which would bring an end to over a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

In private, both Hezbollah and Iran - the group’s main supporter - have said they were interested in one, a Lebanese source told me. And in a televised speech last week, the new leader of the group, Naim Qassem, appeared to give his green light to the US-drafted proposal.

The war has been devastating for Lebanon, where more than 3,700 people have been killed since the start of the hostilities in October 2023 and one million residents have been displaced in areas where Hezbollah holds sway. The World Bank estimates there has been $8.5bn (£6.8bn) in economic losses and damage.

Recovery will take time, and no-one seems to know who will pay for it.

Hezbollah, too, has been devastated. Many of its leaders have been killed, including its long-time chief, while its infrastructure has been heavily damaged. How it will look like after the war remains unclear.

The group has been severely weakened, some would say humiliated, but it has not been destroyed.

In Lebanon, it is more than a militia: it is a political party with representation in Lebanon's parliament, and a social organisation, with significant support among Shia Muslims.

Its opponents will probably see it as an opportunity to limit its influence – before the conflict, Hezbollah was often described as a state within a state in Lebanon – and many fear this could lead to internal violence.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

I’ve been talking to people in Lebanon about what they envision a potential ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel would look like.

Ralph, 29, lives in the Achrafieh neighbourhood of Beirut, where he says “there is a mix of hope and pessimism on the streets today".

The past few weeks have been hard on him, he says, as he spent many evenings listening to the air strikes across the city.

“My mental health is not at its best right now,” he says. “I own an advertising agency, and many of my clients had to shut down. I have been affected financially."

“I am a Scout leader and one of the Scouts in my group, a 13-year-old boy I knew well, was killed in this war.”

Ralph says that despite the bombing, he decided to stay in his home of Achrafieh over the past few weeks. His neighbourhood was not bombed, but nearby areas have been hit.

“I truly believe the Lebanese Army is capable of protecting us," he says, adding that he believes they're capable of enforcing a potential ceasefire in the country's south.

But something needs to change, he says.

"The Lebanese people need to stop relying on Hezbollah as a military force," the 29-year-old says. “We want to dream and we want to grow.”

“But as for the ceasefire, we will believe it when we see it.”

Moving away from the southern suburbs of Beirut, let's return to the news that Israel's security cabinet is set to discuss a 60-day ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon later today.

It's been reported in Israeli media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed "in principle" to a possible ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

But some in Israel, including local leaders in the north, are reportedly expressing anger towards the negotiations, saying that the safety of residents in these areas is not guaranteed.

Metula's mayor in the country's north is asking residents in the region not to return and is urging Netanyahu not to make this "shameful agreement", Israel's Channel 13 reports.

"The threat has not been removed. We will not agree to return to the reality of October 7 in the north,” he says.

That sentiment was echoed by Israel's former defence minister, Benny Gantz, who asks in a post on X for Netanyahu to "convene the heads of the authorities in the north" rather than convening the heads of his coalition.

As a reminder, about 60,000 people have been evacuated from northern Israel as exchanges of fire have become an almost daily occurrence since 8 October last year, the day after Hamas launched its attack on Israel from Gaza.

Israel made the safe return of these residents to the north of the country an official war goal back in September.

Image source, Reuters

We can now bring you an update on the evacuation order that the Israeli military issued earlier this morning.

Israeli strikes have now been reported in Beirut's south, an area that has a strong Hezbollah presence.

The IDF has not yet commented on the strikes.

The Israeli military has just issued an evacuation order for several buildings, including two schools, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the armed group Hezbollah has a strong presence.

The IDF's Arabic spokesperson is asking civilians near the buildings it outlines, as well as the ones adjacent to them, to evacuate ahead of strikes it says will target "Hezbollah facilities and interests".

In a post on X, external, Avichay Adraee shared a map alongside the announcement, which calls on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 metres from the sites.

Before hearing from the EU's top diplomat, both the US and France signalled their support of a ceasefire deal that would temporarily end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

The French presidency said on Monday evening negotiations had "significantly advanced" and urged Israel and Hezbollah to "quickly seize this opportunity".

That sentiment was echoed by the US, with its national security council spokesman, John Kirby, saying: "We believe we've reached this point where we're close". He cautioned that "we're not there yet".

The potential deal, however, does not have the backing of everyone in Israel.

The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, spoke out against a ceasefire with Hezbollah, saying Israel should press on with the war until "absolute victory".

He addressed the Israeli prime minister on X saying: "It is not too late to stop this agreement!"

Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities have said any ceasefire deal should be limited to the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, external, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Image source, Reuters

The EU's foreign policy chief says there is no reason for not implementing a proposed ceasefire deal in Lebanon, hours before the Israeli security cabinet is set to discuss the potential end to hostilities with Hezbollah.

"There is a proposal on the table, brokered by the US and by France, which gives Israel all the security commitments they were asking for," Josep Borrell has said at a G7 foreign ministers meeting near Rome.

"No more excuses. No more additional requests. Stop this fighting. Stop killing people."

The top EU diplomat has also urged international leaders to put pressure on Israel to back the deal on Tuesday.

Image source, Reuters

Lebanese authorities insist that any ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah should be limited to the terms of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 - which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

That resolution includes the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s fighters and weapons in areas between the Blue Line - the unofficial frontier between Lebanon and Israel - and the Litani River, about 30km (18 miles) from the boundary with Israel.

Other key provisions of the resolution include:

• No foreign forces in Lebanon without the government’s consent
• No sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorised by its government
• Provision to the UN of all remaining maps of landmines in Lebanon in Israel’s possession
• Full respect by both parties for the Blue Line and security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including an area free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese authorities and UNIFIL