Fourteen people have been killed and dozens injured after Israel's military said it carried out a "targeted strike" on the Lebanese capital Beirut
Israel says it killed Hezbollah's operations commander Ibrahim Aqil in the attack, alongside other senior members of the group's elite Radwan unit
It is Israel's third strike on Beirut this year
Cross-border exchanges have escalated this week after dozens were killed in a series of exploding device attacks on Hezbollah members, which were widely blamed on Israel
We're now getting lines from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's address.
He calls this week's device attacks "war crimes or at least a declaration of war".
We'll bring you more lines from his address soon.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is speaking now - and we've just heard the Israel Defense Forces is carrying out fresh air strikes on the group's targets in Lebanon.
Air raid sirens have also been heard in northern Israel. Israel's military says it is bringing “security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes”.
Stay with us for more.
Nafiseh Kohnavard
BBC Persian Middle East correspondent, in Beirut
Usually before speeches from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who is giving a televised address at 15:00 BST, I could manage to get some sense of what is expected from him through my sources.
But this time no one can predict what he may say.
The schedule for the speech was announced right after the first wave of pager explosions and before the second wave of blasts yesterday.
A high-ranking source close to Hezbollah tells me that part of the reason I've had no preview into the content of the speech is because this is still an active situation.
"But you can expect that his tone will be much [more] severe," the source tells me.
“He definitely needs to reassure his people in different levels and layers of the group and Hezbollah supporters that things are under control.”
I spoke with several people close to Hezbollah and all of them acknowledged that Nasrallah’s job today is not easy. He needs to address hundreds of the group’s young members, many of whom will now be left with permanent damage from these explosions. Several have lost their eyes and hands.
Usually, such important speeches are broadcast in one of the Hezbollah venues in Dahieh, in the suburbs of Beirut, with hundreds of his supporters and the group’s high-ranking people gathered.
But today it will be only on TV. No gathering. The security concerns are high, not only in the areas controlled by Hezbollah but in other parts of Lebanon.
Image source, ReutersPeople watching a Nasrallah speech last month in a cafe in Tyre, southern Lebanon
More than 90 people who were injured in the pager and walkie-talkie explosions are now in Iran receiving further treatment, according to Tehran's embassy in Lebanon., external
That includes Iran's ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, whose condition has been described as "very good" by the embassy in its statement.
Officials didn't elaborate on how serious the injuries suffered by the other transferees are at this stage.
Frank Gardner
Security correspondent
There is a broad spectrum of differing opinions over what everyone assumes is the Israeli operation to sabotage Hezbollah’s communication devices.
For supporters of Israel and for many of its citizens, this is being hailed as a brilliant tactical move, showing that the country’s intelligence agencies are right back at the top of their game after the disastrous lapses that led to the 7 October raid by Hamas.
There are also growing claims that Israel may have broken international law by booby-trapping civilian devices and harming civilians. But of course Israel has yet to admit it was behind this and it may never do so publicly.
There is no doubt that Hezbollah has taken a massive hit, both psychologically and operationally. In the short term this will severely hamper its ability to communicate between the leadership in south Beirut and its units spread out through southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
It could even, some are hoping, help push Hezbollah towards a ceasefire deal.
But for now, the low-level conflict on Israel’s northern border continues. At least 60,000 Israelis are unable to return to their homes there, even more so on the Lebanese side. Unless and until Hezbollah’s forces pull back to the Litani River, away from the border, the area will remain dangerously unstable.
If that is still the case months from now then some will be asking: what was the point of blowing up all those pagers and walkie-talkies?
Carine Torbey
BBC Arabic correspondent, in Beirut
Image source, Getty ImagesThis week's attacks in Lebanon represent a major blow to Hezbollah, as it shows a massive breach in its communication systems - something extremely important for their military operations.
But, what happened has also been extremely scary for everyone in the country and abroad as communication devices suddenly seem to be ticking bombs.
Again, these explosions were not happening on the frontline or in combat areas - but in random places.
Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for either attack, there is widespread belief in Lebanon that it is Israel that carried out both of them.
Now, as Hezbollah and the country are still reeling from the shock, the main question is: what’s next?
And how, they wonder, is this going to affect the military developments on the border between Lebanon and Israel and maybe much further beyond.
Image source, ReutersLebanon's prime minister is calling on the UN to "take a firm stance" against Israel, after multiple reports said that its spy agency - Mossad - was behind this week's deadly device explosions.
Najib Mikati says in a statement that preventing Israeli aggression is not just for the good of Lebanon but "humanity as a whole", as he accuses the country of waging "technological war".
His remarks come ahead of a Friday meeting of the UN Security Council, which Lebanon has requested to address the exploding devices attack.
Israel has not commented directly on the attacks on walkie-talkies and pagers.
Carine Torbey
Reporting from Beirut's Mount Lebanon Hospital University Medical Center
Warning: This post contains graphic details
Ophthalmologist Prof Elias Warrak tells me how in one night he extracted more eyes than he has in his entire career.
"I wanted to save at least one of the eyes of the victims (to save their sight) and in some cases I couldn’t, I had to remove both eyes because the ammunitions had gone straight deep in to the eyes."
While speaking to me in his office in Beirut, Dr Warrak seems composed but also very sad, as he reflects on what happened and what he has seen.
"It was very hard," he says. "Most of the patients were young men in their twenties and in some cases I had to remove both eyes. In my whole life I had not seen scenes similar to what I saw yesterday."
Hezbollah, whose leader we'll be hearing from in a couple of hours, is a politically-influential Shia Muslim organisation which controls the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.
It was established in the early 1980s by the region's most dominant Shia power, Iran, to oppose Israel. At the time, Israel's forces had occupied southern Lebanon during the country's civil war.
Hezbollah has participated in national elections since 1992 and has become a major political presence.
Its armed wing has carried out deadly attacks on Israeli and US forces in Lebanon. When Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah took credit for pushing them out.
Since then, Hezbollah has maintained thousands of fighters and a huge missile arsenal in southern Lebanon. It continues to oppose Israel's presence in disputed border areas.
The group is designated a terrorist organisation by Western states, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and the Arab League.
Hezbollah has maintained thousands of fighters and a huge missile arsenal in southern Lebanon
Shaimaa Khalil
Tokyo correspondent
First it was the pagers, now the walkie-talkies – and for a second day, the spotlight is on Asian companies.
We woke in Japan to the news that devices that exploded in Lebanon on Wednesday had the Icom logo - a Japanese handheld radio manufacturer based in Osaka.
This comes as the Taiwanese firm, Gold Apollo, is being investigated by the authorities after thousands of pagers, seemingly linked to the company, exploded on Tuesday.
The Asia-Pacific region is a telecoms and electronics hub. Japan is home to major tech giants and Japanese products are still viewed as a benchmark of top quality.
Icom distanced itself from the walkie-talkies, saying it discontinued them a decade ago and that it only sells products for overseas markets via authorised distributors. The firm told the BBC it was "aware of reports and investigating".
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s Annahar newspaper said the Icom walkie talkies were old handsets. And a sales executive at the US subsidiary of Icom told AP news agency they appeared to be a knock-off product.
It's still unclear at which point in the supply chain these devices were compromised and how.
Image source, Getty ImagesAn exploded pager found in southern Beirut
The number of people killed in the device explosions that hit Lebanon on Wednesday has now risen to 25, the country's health minister says.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Firass Abiad also provides an update on the number of people injured in Wednesday's blasts. At least 608 people have been wounded, he says, which is up from the earlier estimate of 450.
The death toll across both days now stands at 37, as at least 12 people were killed as a result of Tuesday's pager attacks.
Image source, EPAMen carry the coffin of one of those killed in the attacks
If you're just joining us, here's a recap of our coverage after thousands of devices exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday:
Stay with us for updates from London, Beirut, and across the Middle East.
As Lebanon continues to be gripped by fear of further electronic devices exploding, the authorities are trying to mitigate the risk.
"Specialised army units are detonating suspicious pagers and communication devices in different areas," the army says in a post on X, formerly Twitter., external
Controlled explosions like these were also carried out last night, and the army is continuing to urge citizens to steer clear of sites where detonations are happening and to report any "suspicious device or object".
Image source, ReutersLebanese army members prepare to carry out a controlled explosion of a battery of a communications device in the town of Qlayaa, southern Lebanon
Orla Guerin
Senior international correspondent, reporting from Beirut
More now from my interview with Lebanon's health minister.
Abiad has been speaking to me during a brief break between meetings in the health ministry, where a crisis room is running around the clock.
He says surgeons have operated for almost 24 hours continuously on Tuesday and Wednesday, and some healthcare workers did not leave their hospitals for the past two days.
Many of the wounded have life-changing injuries, he says, with loss of either their eyesight, or the use of their hands.
“This is something that unfortunately will require a lot of rehabilitation,” he adds.
Orla Guerin
Senior international correspondent, reporting from Beirut
Image source, EPALebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad, pictured in September
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad has told the BBC he thinks the two waves of attacks in recent days – in which pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded without warning – constitute a war crime.
The attacks – which killed 32 people included two children – have been widely blamed on Israel, which has not claimed responsibility.
The minister says Lebanon has called for a meeting of the UN security council on the issue and hopes to have “productive discussions on the matter”.
He says “the weaponisation of technology” was something very serious, not only for Lebanon but also for the rest of the world, and for other conflicts. “Now we have to think twice before using technology,” he tells me.
The dead and injured in Lebanon include fighters from Hezbollah – the Iranian backed armed group which is classed as a terrorist organisation by the UK and the US. But members of their families have also been killed or wounded, along with innocent bystanders.
“The whole world could see that these attacks occurred in markets,” he says. “These were not people who were at the battleground fighting. They were in civilian areas with their families.”
Amid growing fears of all-out war, the minister says Lebanon needs to prepare for the worst.
“So, I think that we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario," he says. "The two attacks in the last day, show that their intent (Israel) is not towards a diplomatic solution."
"What I know is the position of my government is clear. From day one, we believe that Lebanon does not want war.”
Image source, GettyThe EU's foreign policy chief says the explosions in Lebanon are "extremely worrying" and risk tipping the region into a dangerous escalation.
Josep Borrell says in a statement that he called the Lebanese foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib yesterday after the explosions and was briefed on the situation.
"Even if the attacks seem to have been targeted, they had heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages among civilians: several children are among the victims."
He adds that the recent rounds of attacks could "endanger the security and stability of Lebanon, and increase the risk of escalation in the region".
Quote MessageThe European Union calls on all stakeholders to avert an all-out war, which would have heavy consequences for the entire region and beyond."
Josep Borell
As a reminder, multiple sources say Israel's Mossad spy agency carried out the attacks by targeting Hezbollah members' communication devices.
The Israeli military and government have yet to comment on the blasts, but on Wednesday, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced "a new phase in the war".
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem
While the Israeli government maintains its studied silence about the attacks on mobile devices in Lebanon, commentators have no such reticence.
The papers are full of analysis about where this leaves Israel’s simmering conflict with Hezbollah and what happens next.
Veteran Arab affairs analyst Ehud Yaari says the attacks have created a “rare opportunity” for Israel to act decisively against Hezbollah and its vast stockpiles of precision-guided missiles.
The group’s communication systems are out of commission and large numbers of its field commanders have been wounded, some grievously.
“This current situation will not recur any time soon,” Yaari writes for the Israeli N12 news website.
“Simply put, Hezbollah is currently in the worst state it has been in since the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.”
The government says its military focus has now shifted to the north, even as the war in Gaza goes on, but it remains unclear just how Israel intends to exploit this rare moment of opportunity, and whether a wider conflict is looming.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was seen crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory and falling close to Israel's northern border, the IDF has said.
A fire erupted as a result of the drone, which fell near Beit Hillel, and fire services were called to extinguish the flames. No injuries were reported.
Another explosive UAV was also detected near the community of Ya'ara, the IDF adds, though it was not clear if it might have crashed.
Image source, ReutersIsrael's military evacuating injured people by helicopter
Returning to the conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border, we can now bring you some updates from overnight.
Israel's military have said it hit seven Hezbollah sites in strikes on southern Lebanon. Six of the sites targeted were said to be military buildings and the last a weapons warehouse.
Buildings in the towns of Chihine, Blida, Mays al-Jabal, Al-Taiba, Aitaroun and Kfar Kela, and a warehouse in Khiam were struck, the IDF says in a statement.
It comes as Israel earlier said that at least eight Israelis were injured after they were hit by an anti-tank guided missile attack from Lebanon by Hezbollah earlier on Thursday.
Two of them are in moderate to serious condition, with the rest lightly injured, according to the Times of Israel quoting hospital officials.
By Benedict Garman
At BBC Verify, we continue to examine footage coming out of Lebanon.
One scene, captured in multiple videos and shared widely on social media, shows a well-attended funeral procession interrupted by a blast. Smoke rises as a man collapses into the road and people begin screaming.
We have confirmed the funeral was taking place in the village of Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh District of southern Lebanon.
One video, which captures the moment of the explosion, is a clip taken from a Facebook live stream. Comments shared by viewers include the line: "Condolences to the...people of Kfar Sir."
Social media searches for references to the village led to other funeral photos revealing more of its surroundings, which we matched with satellite imagery to confirm the location.
We have also authenticated footage depicting smoke rising from a phone shop in the city of Sidon, in south-west Lebanon on the Mediterranean coast, and videos showing a fire in the Haret Hreik area in Beirut.
However, from the videos alone, we’re unable to ascertain the cause of these incidents.