Image source, Reuters

Saleh al-Arouri's funeral is due to take place in Lebanon's capital Beirut today.

The deputy Hamas leader was assassinated in the city on Tuesday, ramping up fears about Israel's war with Hamas turning into a wider regional conflict.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the killing.

Little is known about the funeral at the moment - we'll share the first images of it when we've got them.

Further escalation likely in Red Sea standoffpublished at 11:15 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January

11:15 GMT 4 January

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

The situation in the strategically vital southern Red Sea is now at a standoff.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have issued defiant statements vowing to continue their attacks on any vessel passing their coast that they consider has links to Israel.

Their actions have now been unanimously condemned by the UN and, perhaps more significantly, a statement late on Wednesday by the US and 11 other nations implicitly warns the Houthis to stop or "bear the consequences".

In practice, this is likely to mean armed action against their bases, boats and weapons if the attacks on shipping persist.

US, British and French warships in the Red Sea all have the capability to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones but this is getting expensive and they can’t be sure to hit every single one, especially if the Houthis decide to launch a ‘swarm’ attack: launching multiple drones and missiles at once, as Russia has been doing in Ukraine.

Yemen may be the poorest Arab nation but the Houthis have a large stockpile of missiles and drones and they are showing no sign of backing down.

Image source, .

Image source, EPA

Following reports there's been more overnight strikes in Gaza, Israeli military has released a flurry of operational updates this morning - here's a quick look at what they say has been happening on the ground:

• The IDF "killed three terrorists" in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, who Israel claims had tried to plant a bomb among its forces
• In the same area, a weapons warehouse reportedly belonging to Hamas was destroyed
• Away from the south, the Israeli Air Force has been targeting more buildings belonging to Hamas in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip
• Also in the centre of the enclave, the IDF says it found long-range rocket launchers during an operational search of the Bureij refugee camp

US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein is visiting Israel today for meetings with senior officials in a bid to prevent an escalation with Hezbollah along the northern border.

It follows the assassination of top Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut on Tuesday, which raised fears the conflict could spread. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also travel to Israel in the next few days as part of his trip.

No public support in Lebanon for military confrontation with Israelpublished at 10:13 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January

10:13 GMT 4 January

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

The killing of Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy Hamas leader, in Beirut on Tuesday elevated tensions in Lebanon even further, renewing fears of a wider war in the region. The attack hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of the powerful Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah.

In a speech yesterday, Hasan Nasrallah, the influential Hezbollah leader, described it as a "flagrant Israeli aggression" that could not go unpunished. Strong words, as expected, but no clear threat to act against Israel.

The attack was a blow to Hamas and probably a message to Hezbollah: even areas controlled by the group could be targeted. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, Hezbollah and the Israeli military have exchanged attacks almost every day but, so far, the violence has been largely contained to the Lebanon-Israel border.

Hezbollah has calculated its actions to prevent another full-scale war with Israel. Many here still remember the devastation caused by the last one, in 2006, and with Lebanon suffering a massive economic crisis, there is no public support for any military confrontation.

Israeli authorities have warned Hezbollah that it could do to Beirut what it has done to Gaza, and some senior officials have supported further action against the group to reduce the threat to Israeli communities near the border.

Image source, Reuters

As we reported a little earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East today for the fourth time since Hamas’s attacks on Israel in October.

An unnamed US official told the AFP and Reuters news agencies that his visit will include a trip to Israel, amid concerns about the effect the conflict with Hamas is having on the wider region.

The official said Blinken leaves tonight "for stops in a number of capitals, including Israel" - but did not offer any further detail about Blinken’s itinerary.

It comes after Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in Beirut on Tuesday, prompting Lebanese group Hezbollah to say the killing will "not go unpunished". Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement, but a spokesman called it a "surgical strike against the Hamas leadership".

Image source, Getty Images

Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that Israeli strikes continued in Gaza overnight.

It said at least 14 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The 14 people included nine children, the Hamas-run health ministry told Reuters.

According to Wafa, Israeli aircraft and artillery also bombed homes in Al-Maghazi refugee camp and Al-Masdar village in the central Gaza Strip, killing dozens and wounding others.

Israel has been telling people in parts of Gaza to evacuate, as intense battles with Hamas continue across the territory. On Wednesday planes dropped leaflets on Al-Nuseirat camp in the centre and also in Khan Younis, saying: "The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone".

Away from the Lebanon border for a moment, and in Gaza the Palestinian Red Crescent charity says its headquarters in Khan Younis has been hit in an Israeli strike, killing one and injuring six others.

In unverified footage which the charity shared on X,, external plumes of smoke can be seen rising from the building as people run away.

The organisation also said another strike on a nearby home has caused further damage to the headquarters and to the al-Amal Hospital. They said it caused "a state of panic and fear".

The BBC has approached the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Yesterday, the charity also said five people have been killed and three injured in Israeli bombing on its headquarters.

It's a Shia Muslim organisation which is politically influential and in control of the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.

It's also designated a terrorist organisation by Western states, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and the Arab League.

Hezbollah 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.

When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah took credit for pushing them out. Since then, it has maintained thousands of fighters and a huge missile arsenal in southern Lebanon.

In 2006, a full-blown war broke out between Hezbollah and Israel, triggered when Hezbollah carried out a deadly cross-border raid. Israeli troops invaded southern Lebanon to try to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah.

However, it survived and has since increased its number of fighters and obtained new and better weapons. It is funded and equipped by Iran.

• You can read more about the group here

Image source, .

In Lebanon, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has said four more of its members have been killed in what state media says was an Israeli air strike in the village of Naqoura.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station carried a tribute to the four - who they described as "martyrs" and said included local official Hussein Yazbek - in a brief statement issued late last night.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Israeli aircraft had bombed a three-storey house, destroying it completely. The attack also injured nine civilians, it reported.

The Times of Israel said the total number of Hezbollah members to have been killed since the war began in October now stands at more than 150. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging near daily fire across Lebanon's southern border for months.

Israel has not confirmed it was responsible for this strike. Last night, the Israeli military posted a video to social media,, external which it said showed it attacking "targets of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah in Lebanese territory". The footage shows various buildings being struck, followed by huge blasts and smoke rising.

No concrete threats from Hezbollah - but fears over wider war remain highpublished at 08:20 Greenwich Mean Time 4 January

08:20 GMT 4 January

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Image source, EPA

The latest statements by the powerful Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israel’s army have reduced fears of a further spread of the war in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas number two, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in Beirut on Tuesday. Both armed groups are supported by Iran.

After the assassination of Arouri, a speech by the Hezbollah leader on Wednesday was closely watched.

Hasan Nasrallah insisted his heavily armed forces would fight to the finish if Israel chose to extend its war to Lebanon.

But he made no concrete threats to act against Israel in support of Hamas.

Israel’s been widely blamed for Tuesday’s killing but has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

Asked about the Israeli military’s preparations for a potential Hezbollah response, a spokesman said the focus was on fighting Hamas.

Global concerns about the regional spill over of the war in Gaza remain high.

In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have targeted some 20 ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles or drones, claiming they were acting against those with Israeli links.

At the UN Security Council, members said the attacks were illegal, threatened regional stability, freedom of navigation and global food supplies.

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

Hello, you join us as we restart our live coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza - and how it's affecting the wider Middle East region. To get things going, here's a quick rundown of where things stand.

Israel-Lebanon border

Cross-border fire continues between Israel and Hezbollah, two days after Hamas's deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was assassinated in Beirut.

Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported last night that Israel had "escalated its attacks" in southern Lebanon, with a blast at a three-storey house in the village of Naqoura, "destroying it completely".

Hezbollah later confirmed that four of its members had been killed. Israel's military said it attacked "terrorist" infrastructure.

Gaza

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society says its headquarters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, is being targeted by Israel again - and that one person has been killed and several others injured. The organisation said five people had been killed yesterday in a separate blast.

Elsewhere, there have been blasts reported in other parts of the south and in central Gaza.

Red Sea

The US, UK and 10 other states have warned Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen - who've declared support for Hamas in the war - that they'll face consequences if they continue to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Since November, the rebels have attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea more than 20 times.

Blinken visit

And finally, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave the US later tonight and head for the Middle East. An unnamed senior US official told Reuters he'll stop in a number of places, including Israel, but didn’t provide any further details. It'll be Blinken's fourth trip to the region since the war broke out last year.