Jack Burgess
Live editor

Image source, Reuters

It's been a day with an exchange of strikes that appears to be a significant escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

We're about to end today's live page. But before we go here's a quick look at some noteworthy developments:

• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke a little while ago on television. He says his group targeted a military base near Tel Aviv, Israel, in this morning's rocket and drone attack
• Iran-backed Hezbollah says that it fired more than 300 rockets and Nasrallah says they will assess the impact of the strike before deciding whether to carry out further ones
• The armed group claims the strikes were a response to the killing of top commander Fuad Shukr in July

• Earlier, Israel's military launched what it has called a 'pre-emptive' strike against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after detecting moves to fire missiles into Israel
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also warned that today's action is "not the end of the story" in it's campaign against Hezbollah
• He says Israel's military has intercepted and destroyed thousands of rockets and drones
• Three people were killed in Lebanon, according to its ministry of health, and Hezbollah has announced the death of two of its fighters, while Israel says an IDF soldier died "during combat" in northern Israel

You can continue reading about this topic with our latest stories:

• Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire in major escalation
• Israel and Hezbollah say they don't want war - but they are both ready for it
• Israel-Gaza ceasefire: Is a deal still possible?

This page was edited by Emily Atkinson, Malu Cursino, Andrew Humphrey and myself. It was written by Gabriela Pomeroy, Seher Asaf and Ian Aikman.

We've received this footage from a resident of the northern Israeli town of Shlomi, who filmed this morning's attack by Hezbollah.

The video appears to show the firing and interception of dozens of the rockets being fired into the sky above Israel.

A neighbour of the person filming has said it looked like fireworks were flying into the sky from both directions.

We can bring you some pictures now which reveal some of the damage caused to homes in northern Israel following Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks this morning.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, epa

Image source, Getty Images

Indications that neither Hezbollah not Israel relish further escalationpublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 25 August

18:13 BST 25 August

Hugo Bachega
reporting from Beirut

The speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the powerful head of the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, was closely watched for any indication of what the group might be planning to do.

Unsurprisingly, he claimed that the attack on Israel earlier today, in retaliation for the Israeli assassination of senior commander Fuad Shukr last month in Beirut, was a success as it had been carried out as planned, and that it was over, an indication that no other major operation was being prepared, at least for now.

The near hour-long speech - broadcast live on television and delivered, as usual, from an undisclosed location for security reasons - appeared to be an attempt to reduce tensions with Israel, as this morning’s violence fuelled fears that the conflict, so far largely contained to areas along the Lebanon-Israel border, could become an all-out war.

Image source, EPA

Nasrallah did say, however, that if an assessment of what had been achieved considered the response to have been unsatisfactory, the group would reserve the right to attack again. But, given everything else, it seemed to be something that had to be said, rather than an actual threat.

“The people can be at ease and carry on with their lives,” he said, “as the country [Lebanon] has been in tension for a month now”.

His words were in contrast with a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said earlier at the start of the government meeting that what happened today “was not the end of the story”.

Behind the scenes, though, it seems that both sides have indicated not being interested in further escalation.

Image source, Reuters

The Shia Muslim organisation Hezbollah is one of the most heavily-armed, non-state military forces in the world. It is funded and equipped by Iran.

Its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has claimed that it has 100,000 fighters, although independent estimates vary between 20,000 and 50,000.

Many are well trained and battle hardened and they fought on the side of President Assad during the Syrian civil war.

Hezbollah has an estimated 120,000 - 200,000 rockets and missiles, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. , external

Its weapons are mainly small, unguided surface-to-surface artillery rockets. But it's also thought to have anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, as well as guided missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel.

Hezbollah's arsenal is much bigger and more powerful than what Hamas has at its disposal.

Read more about Hezbollah here.

Here's a little more from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

He says Hezbollah will assess the impact of its operation today, according to a Reuters translation.

The group will respond again at another time if the results are deemed to be not enough, Nasrallah says, according to the Reuters translation.

He claims Hezbollah were about to carry out its attack as planned, rejecting statements from the Israeli military that they had stopped a larger attack.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

John Healey, the UK's defence secretary, has spoken with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant following the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel's ministry of defence says Gallant has briefed Healey on the "activities conducted by the IDF in thwarting an extensive attack against Israeli civilians and military positions", and has discussed the UK's "important role in maintaining regional stability".

In a post on X, formerly called Twitter, external, Healey says de-escalation across the Middle East is "crucial".

In the call, he says he "underlined UK support for Israel’s security and the importance of agreeing a ceasefire in Gaza".

"We discussed our shared concern to avoid escalation and wider regional conflict," he adds.

Malu Cursino
Live page editor

Our team of reporters in London have been bringing you the latest updates following the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah throughout the day.

It comes after Iran-backed Hezbollah "completed" the first phase of an extensive attack on Israel, in retaliation to the assassination of the group's top commander last month. Israel's military has said it destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels.

We're now handing reporting duties to our late team, who will keep bringing you the latest updates and analysis - both in London and the Middle East.

This morning's page was written by Gabriela Pomeroy, Seher Asaf, Ian Aikman. It was edited by Emily Atkinson and myself.

More now from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrullah's televised address.

Nasrullah claims all Hezbollah drones were launched successfully and entered Israeli airspace, according to a Reuters translation.

He adds that the group had no intention of using precision missiles in today's attack, but may deploy them in the near future.

He also says none of Hezbollah's precision or strategic missiles were damaged in strikes launched by Israel into Lebanon.

As a reminder, Hezbollah earlier said that it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets and drones at Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said around 100 fighter jets "destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels" in more than 40 sites.

We can now bring you some early details from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's speech.

In a televised address, translated by the Reuters news agency, he says Hezbollah's response to the killing of its top commander Fuad Shukr was delayed for several reasons, including mass Israeli and US military mobilisation.

He adds that the group decided not to respond to the assassination by targeting civilian areas and Israeli infrastructure.

Nasrallah goes on to say that Hezbollah targeted a military intelligence base 110km (68 miles) into Israeli territory, which was 1.5km (0.9 miles) away from Tel Aviv.

We'll bring you more detail on this shortly.

Image source, Reuters

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is a Shia cleric who has led Hezbollah since 1992.

He played a key role in turning it into a political, as a well as a military, force.

He has close links with Iran and its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Nasrallah has not appeared in public for years, purportedly for fear of being assassinated by Israel.

However, he remains revered by Hezbollah, and delivers televised speeches every week.

Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah is speaking now on the "latest developments".

It comes after Israel launched a wave of strikes into Lebanon that it described as pre-emptive, and Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets in an escalation of tensions.

We'll bring you the key lines shortly - and you can follow along by tapping watch live above.

In a separate development, Hezbollah says it carried out an attack this afternoon on a site in Manara, northern Israel.

The Iran-backed armed group says it targeted "a technical system" in the region, which is opposite the southern Lebanese town of Houla.

This development comes after Hezbollah said earlier today that it had "completed" the first phase of its retaliation against Israel - which followed the assassination of a top commander last month.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says a 21-year-old Israeli naval soldier was killed "during combat" in northern Israel earlier today, without providing further details.

The IDF identified the soldier as David Moshe Ben Shitrit, from Geva Binyamin.

Image source, Reuters

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says he spoke to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant yesterday to discuss Israel's defence against any attacks from Hezbollah.

"I reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defence against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies," Austin says in a post on X today, external.

Earlier, Gallant said he and Austin had "conducted a joint assessment" about the "precise strikes that the IDF has conducted in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel".

He also said that the pair had discussed the importance of avoiding regional escalation.

In the same post, Gallant thanked the US, one of Israel's closest allies, "for standing with Israel".

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

British Airways (BA) has suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv amid the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

In a statement shared with the BBC, a spokesperson said the airline had been "continually monitoring the situation in the Middle East" and had taken the decision to suspend flights between Sunday and Wednesday.

"Safety is always our top priority, and we're contacting customers to advise them of their travel options," the BA spokesperson said.

Air France also said it was suspending flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until at least Monday.

Also on Sunday, Wizz Air said it is "temporarily suspending" flights to and from Israel because of the escalating situation in the region.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

Yousef Fayad, mayor of the southern Lebanese village of Mari, tells the BBC residents there have been "living in this situation for the past 10 months" and that "the sounds have become part of our normal everyday lives".

"Our village is not just land. It is our history, our community, our family, our homes," he adds.

Ahmed Mohammad, who lives in another southern Lebanese village called Wazzani, says he hears the sounds of airstrikes, missile strikes and rocket strikes most days.

"The sound of drones has become a normality," Ahmed says, adding: "Today the sounds were intense. One after the other".

Israel's military earlier today launched what it called pre-emptive air strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, after detecting plans for a significant attack against its territory.

Hezbollah says it has completed the "first phase" of its retaliation for the killing of a top commander.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, X/@netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel's strikes on Sunday are "not the end of the story" in its military campaign against Hezbollah.

"We are striking Hezbollah with surprising, crushing blows... This is another step towards changing the situation in the north and safely returning our residents to their homes," he tells a cabinet meeting.

The prime minister says the Israeli military has destroyed thousands of short-range rockets "aimed at harming our citizens and our forces", as well as intercepting all of the drones "launched at a strategic target in the centre of the country".

People in Lebanon anxious about another all-out warpublished at 13:52 British Summer Time 25 August

13:52 BST 25 August

Orla Guerin
Senior international correspondent, reporting from southern Lebanon

Image source, Getty Images

There are very fresh memories of the level of damage done in 2006, when a lot of Lebanese infrastructure was destroyed and more than a 1,000 people were killed during the full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Since then, Lebanon has endured a series of crises including an economic collapse, ongoing political paralysis and the disastrous explosion in Beirut's port four years ago.

Lebanon can't afford another war, and doesn't want another war, but when you speak to people here they make it very clear they won't be the decision makers. They understand perfectly well it won't be the Lebanese government or the Lebanese army that decides whether or not there is war.

It will be the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah and Israel.

To some extent there is a degree of resignation but there is also anxiety.

People have been waiting since the end of last month, when there were back-to-back assassinations of Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr.

Since then, the clock has been ticking in Lebanon, and across the Middle East.

Hamas says it welcomes Hezbollah's firing of hundreds of rockets and drones towards Israel.

In a statement on Telegram, Hamas describes the operation as a “major qualitative response” that hit “vital and strategic targets” inside Israel.

The group commends the “strong and focused response" to the assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.

"The crimes against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples will not pass without a response," it adds.

Image source, Reuters