We're seeing new images from inside Lebanon's capital Beirut.

Military personnel are pictured moments after what photographers at the scene describe as a controlled explosion of a walkie-talkie in the car park of the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

Take a look:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

The death toll from today's blasts in Lebanon has risen to 20, the country's health ministry says.

We have not received an updated figure for how many have been injured, but Lebanon's health ministry earlier said it was at least 450 people.

Image source, Reuters

Among those wounded in yesterday's pager attack in Lebanon was Iran’s ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani.

The Iranian ambassador to the UN, in a letter reported by the Iranian state news agency, reiterates that his country blames Israel and accuses it of committing acts of a "terrorist nature".

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will duly follow up on the attack against its ambassador in Lebanon, which resulted in his injury, and reserves its rights under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond to such a heinous crime and violation," says Amir Saeid Iravani.

Iran's UN envoy also says "Western countries, especially the United States as a strategic ally, by their unwavering so-called ironclad support for this regime, bear international responsibility" for Israel's acts.

Amani's wife, Narges Qadirian, said earlier that he was "slightly" injured and had been taken to hospital, but was doing well.

• A reminder: Israel has not explicitly commented on the attacks.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Getty Images

Here in Washington DC, national security spokesman John Kirby has told reporters he has "nothing to share" when asked whether the US was informed of any operation in Lebanon.

"What I can tell you is we were not involved... in any way," Kirby says during a White House briefing.

He adds that it would be "difficult" to determine how the events in Lebanon would change the wider war and said that a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is "increasingly difficult".

"We don't want to see an escalation, of any kind," he says, adding that additional military operations were not the way to solve the crisis.

"We believe the best way to avoid escalation, or the opening of another front in Lebanon, is diplomacy."

Daniel De Simone
Reporting from Jerusalem

The 98th division of the Israeli military has today relocated from Gaza to the north of Israel, a source has confirmed to the BBC. It had been fighting until recently in the Gaza Strip.

Until now, there was one division in the north - the 36th division - meaning this move will significantly increase the forces there. Two divisions remain focused on Gaza.

Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is where conflict has been taking place with Hezbollah since October last year.

As we've been reporting, around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced in the region due to exchanges of fire with Hezbollah - this week Israel’s government made their return a core war goal.

Earlier, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant also said the country was "opening a new phase in the war" - and that the "centre of gravity is shifting to the north through the diversion of resources and forces".

No surprise Netanyahu's video message omits Lebanon blastspublished at 20:31 British Summer Time 18 September 2024

20:31 BST 18 September 2024

Daniel De Simone
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, X

The Israeli government has not commented on the explosions in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, neither accepting nor denying responsibility.

That’s no surprise - Israel rarely gives official comment on operations of this kind - but here, as elsewhere in the world, the widespread view is that it’s an operation by the country’s intelligence agency Mossad.

In a 10 second video posted on X tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu baldly stated: "We will return the residents of the north safely to their homes, and we will do so exactly."

It's consistent with a ratcheting up of rhetoric this week from senior Israeli figures - including, as we've been reporting, the government announcing that a new war goal is to return thousands of displaced Israelis to the north of the country after rocket and drone attacks from Hezbollah drove them away.

Hezbollah is a hated foe, but also feared, so there’s been some gloating in Israel about what’s seen as a humiliation for it. But there is also real concern about what might happen should the conflict with Hezbollah now escalate into a larger war, perhaps involving Lebanon itself and even other countries, with Iran known to be Hezbollah’s major backer.

The UN and US today both called for de-escalation, amid fears of a deepening conflict, but it seems like such requests are not being heeded.

Image source, Getty Images

Details about the walkie-talkies detonated in today's explosions are still coming to light.

Footage shot in the aftermath showed destroyed devices bearing the brand Icom, a Japanese company.

The BBC reached out to Icom Japan via a contact form on their website but we have not yet received a reply.

Meanwhile, the pagers that exploded on Tuesday were a new brand that the group had not used before, one Hezbollah operative told the AP news agency. A Lebanese security official told the Reuters news agency that around 5,000 pagers were brought into the country about five months ago.

Labels seen on fragments of exploded pagers point to a pager model called the Rugged Pager AR-924. But its Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo has denied any involvement with the explosions.

• You can read more about that here

Image source, Reuters

Hezbollah 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.

Read more here.

It's been around four hours since we first received reports of exploding walkie-talkies in southern Lebanon.

In the aftermath, the BBC's Hugo Bachega described seeing chaos in Dahiya, a suburb of Lebanon's capital Beirut and a Hezbollah stronghold. Here's where things stand now.

Exploding walkie-talkies: There were frenetic scenes this afternoon as reports emerged of more communication devices blowing up in Lebanon. The UN Security Council is set to meet to discuss the situation before the end of the week, and its secretary general António Guterres is "deeply alarmed" by the situation.

Aftermath of yesterday: Funerals were held today in Beirut for victims of Tuesday's pager blasts. Several countries, including Russia and Iran, have backed Lebanon and blamed Israel for the action. Israel has remained silent and the US says it had no involvement. Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant also said the country is "opening a new phase in the war".

Death toll and injuries: Fourteen people have died today, and a further 450 are injured, after the latest attacks. Yesterday's pager blasts killed 12 people and left almost 3,000 injured. Doctors have reported treating patients with severe eye and hand injuries.

Nafiseh Kohnavard
Reporting from Beirut

Earlier today - prior to reports of exploding walkie-talkies in southern Lebanon - I spoke to Dr Nour El Osta, from the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Beirut, about what she saw following Tuesday's pager attacks.

"It was a normal day at the beginning of the day, until it wasn’t anymore," she told me. "It unfortunately reminded us of the 4 August 2020 explosion [when more than 200 people were killed in Beirut port] but it was also different."

She said this time around "we received too many similar injuries" and described it as being almost "repetitive". "All patients had lost fingers or had eye injuries. It was something we never had seen before."

Two patients had "severe injuries on their face and eyes," she explained, and were being transported to other hospitals for surgery.

Due to security concerns, we were not allowed to talk to the patients or their families, as they're mainly members of Hezbollah.

In the hospital garden, there were still a number of family members of the wounded Hezbollah members. All looked exhausted. Some women were crying.

The death toll from the latest blasts in Lebanon has risen from nine to 14 people, with more than 450 others wounded, Lebanon's health ministry says.

This is in addition to the 12 people killed, and almost 3,000 injured, after the pager blasts on Tuesday.

Sam Hancock
Live page editor

Questions and details about this second round of attacks are yet to emerge - but here's what we do know about the latest blasts:

• Reports suggest it was walkie-talkies that were blown up (compared with pagers yesterday)
• Witnesses told a BBC reporter that at least one of the explosions happened near a funeral for four people killed on Tuesday
• Nine more people have been killed and hundreds more injured.

Yesterday's attack left 12 dead and nearly 3,000 injured, according to Lebanon's health ministry. Hospitals performed hundreds of surgeries on people's eyes and faces - the most common areas of injury. One doctor said he had removed more eyes overnight than in his entire 25-year career.

Hezbollah continues to blame Israel. Neither Israel nor its military has said a word about the communication device blasts.

However, a short time ago, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said the country was opening a "new phase in the war", and the "centre of gravity" is shifting towards the north - where Israel borders Lebanon.

If you're coming to this news fresh, I'd recommend giving our explainer a read - it answers simple queries and gives an overview of this developing story.

Image source, Reuters

Some fresh reaction to bring you now.

Antonio Guterres is "deeply alarmed" by reports of exploding communication devices in Lebanon and Syria, the UN secretary general's spokesperson says.

"The secretary general urges all concerned actors to exercise maximum restraint to avert any further escalation," Stéphane Dujarric adds, noting that Guterres is calling for an immediate "return to a cessation of hostilities to restore stability".

He was himself speaking to reporters earlier today - around the time the first reports came through of fresh explosions in Lebanon - and he warned then that the pager blasts indicate there is a "serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon".

"The logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation," Guterres said.

Daniel De Simone
Reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant says the country is "opening a new phase in the war" - and the "centre of gravity is shifting to the north through the diversion of resources and forces".

He made the comments during a tour of the Israeli military's Ramat David airbase in northern Israel.

"We will need consistency over time, this war requires great courage, determination, and perseverance," he added.

The comments will be taken as an indication that Israel is moving its focus towards Hezbollah and the conflict around the border with Lebanon.

Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced in north of the country due to rocket and drone attacks from Hezbollah.

Earlier this week, Israel’s government made their return a core war goal and Gallant said military action will be the only option should diplomacy fail, raising the prospect of increased conflict with Hezbollah.

We're hearing that the UN Security Council will meet before the end of the week to discuss the walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon.

The council's president made the announcement in a brief statement.

At least nine people have been killed and more than 300 others have been injured in the latest blasts, Lebanon's health ministry says.

Was this an own goal by Israel?published at 16:34 British Summer Time 18 September 2024

16:34 BST 18 September 2024

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Let’s think about this for a moment.

If Israel’s Mossad spy agency has indeed managed to sabotage almost the entire communications network of its enemy, Hezbollah, then when is the most effective time to deliver that blow?

The answer surely has to be: just before or during a major military offensive by the Israel Defense Forces against Hezbollah. And yet there is little or no sign of that happening.

So what does that leave? An angry and paranoid Hezbollah vowing revenge, accusations of international law being broken, but most of all, Hezbollah will now look for new ways to communicate.

The element of surprise, that might have delivered such a decisive advantage to Israel in a full-scale war against Hezbollah, has now been lost.

It’s possible that, when it comes to sabotaging its enemy’s communications, Israel has shot its bolt too early.

The Lebanese Red Cross says its teams are responding to "multiple explosions in different areas", including in the country's south and east.

About 30 ambulance teams have been deployed and more are on "high alert and ready to intervene", it added.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

There are chaotic scenes here in Dahiya, Beirut’s southern suburb and a Hezbollah stronghold.

Amid unconfirmed reports of devices exploding for a second day across the country, everyone is suspicious of people using phones or other devices.

Several times, our team have been stopped by people urging us to put our phones down.

Communications seem to be disrupted, while ambulances try to access roads that had been blocked.

Hezbollah’s communications catastrophically damagedpublished at 16:14 British Summer Time 18 September 2024

16:14 BST 18 September 2024

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Several theories have been circulating since yesterday about the timing of these mass attacks on Hezbollah members.

One is that Israel chose this moment to send a devastating message to the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia, following a gradual escalation of violence along Israel’s northern border.

The other is that Israel did not necessarily mean to put its plan in motion at just this moment, but found its hand forced by the possibility that the plot was about to be exposed.

After today’s second round of explosions, both explanations are still possible. But more than ever, this feels like a concerted effort by Israel (and once again, there’s little doubt Israel was behind this) to cripple Hezbollah, literally and figuratively.

With all pagers and walkie talkies now seen as potentially lethal devices, Hezbollah’s ability to communicate with itself is being catastrophically damaged.

Israel may be hoping that by demonstrating just how compromised Hezbollah’s communications are, the group will hesitate – or find it simply too difficult – to launch any further cross-border attacks. At least for now.

Or Israel is preparing the ground, assiduously and terrifyingly, for its own major operation inside Lebanon. Yet again this year, this feels like an extremely dangerous moment.