Image source, Getty Images

Bahrain says it has destroyed 75 Iranian missiles and 123 drones since Tehran began targeting the country over the weekend.

In a post on Instagram, the Bahrain Defence Force says it continues to "confront successive waves of heinous Iranian terrorist attacks". It urges the public to stay home unless it is necessary.

It adds that the use of missiles and drones against civilian targets "is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law" and a threat to "regional peace and security".

Image source, EPA

Strikes in the Gulf have continued for a sixth day, following the US and Israel's joint attack on Iran. If you're just joining us, here's what to know.

Strikes around the region: Explosions have been reported in Bahrain and Qatar, as Iran continues to target Gulf nations with retaliatory strikes.

In Azerbaijan, the foreign ministry says two civilians are injured after two Iranian drones hit the country - one struck the terminal building of an airport and the other fell near a school building.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television says a US tanker in the Gulf is "currently on fire" after its navy targeted it. This follows an earlier report from the UK Maritime Organisation about a tanker being struck off the coast of Kuwait.

On the ground in Iran: Fresh waves of strikes by the US and Israel have hit Tehran - we've seen photos of smoke rising over the Iranian capital and of residents watching for missiles.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has struck a ballistic missile launcher in the city of Qom and an aerial defence system in Isfahan.

In Israel: The nation continues to be targeted by Iranian counter strikes. Ben Gurion Airport has reopened after five days as Israeli authorities approve a partial reopening of airspace subject to security developments. A repatriation flight to Tel Aviv has also arrived in the country.

Flights expected to resume: The UK-bound charter flight set to bring citizens back from the Middle East is scheduled to leave Oman today following a delay due to "technical issues" - a hold up one passenger describes as "a total farce" to the BBC.

Elsewhere, the UAE expects limited flights to operate, and Qatari Airways will operate relief flights out of Muscat, Oman.

James Copnall
BBC Newsday

Image source, Reuters

The BBC's Newsday has spoken to Rana Hammoud, a mother of three who has fled from her home in the south of Lebanon as Israel carries out strikes there.

"It was a disaster...it was catastrophic," says Rana, who says this is the second time she has evacuated from her home.

For now, she says she is staying with a friend in Sidon until she finds a place for her family to live.

What makes this search for accommodation especially difficult is rent prices in the north of Lebanon, which she says are "from another planet".

Rana claims southerners are being generalised as supporters of Hezbollah, adding to the existing financial pressures of finding somewhere to live.

"We're trying to be normal as much as we can," says Rana, who celebrated her son's birthday yesterday. "But we're going to collapse one day."

Image source, Reuters

Some flights are resuming in the Middle East following days of disruptions.

A flight chartered by the UK government to bring Britons back from Oman did not take off as planned on Wednesday evening due to a technical issue. "The flight is now expected to depart later today," the UK Foreign Office said on Thursday.

Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and other European countries have successfully landed repatriation flights from the Middle East.

In the UAE, Emirates and Etihad Airways are now operating a limited number of services. Limited flight operations have resumed at Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi's media office says.

Qatar Airways announced this morning that it will operate relief flights from Muscat, Oman, to several European cities on Thursday, including London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam.

The airline's main operations out of the country's capital Doha remain temporarily suspended "due to the closure of Qatari airspace", it said in a statement on X.

And, in Israel, the first repatriation flights have landed in Tel Aviv.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says this morning that the country's defensive systems are in operation after it identified a new wave of missiles "launched from Iran".

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the IDF says it's working to "intercept the threat", as it urges the public to follow security directives.

"The public is asked to act responsibly and follow the instructions - they save lives," the IDF says.

Cyprus has criticised the UK's response to drone attacks against RAF Akrotiri.

The Cypriot High Commissioner to the UK Kyriacos Kouros told BBC Newsnight that Cypriots are "disappointed" with the UK government's response.

Asked by the programme whether people in Cyprus felt protected by the UK, Kouros said: "Let's say the people are disappointed, the people are scared, the people could expect more."

Defence Secretary John Healey is due to visit the island later today.

The UK has announced that British warship HMS Dragon will be deployed to Cyprus, although it is not due to sail until next week.

The RAF base on Akrotiri is part of a British Overseas Territory.

We're seeing new images captured in the Iranian capital, Tehran, this morning. Thick smoke can be seen rising into the sky.

Image source, Wana / Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Two civilians have been injured by an Iranian drone attack in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan foreign ministry says.

"One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad," the ministry says.

The drone attack damaged an airport building and injured two civilians.

The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan has now been summoned, says the ministry, where "a strong protest will be conveyed to the Iranian side, and a corresponding note of protest will be presented".

UK opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of "sitting back" in this conflict - which, she says, is "not a strategy".

Badenoch tells our colleagues on Radio 4's Today programme that the UK became part of the conflict - "whether we liked it or not" - following the threats to UK military bases by Iranian strikes in Cyprus and Bahrain.

She also says the UK is losing the respect of it allies, including the US: "This is very worrying...they think that we're abandoning them."

As a reminder, the UK initially denied the US access to British bases for its strikes on Iran - before saying they could be used for "defensive " strikes.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey is expected to visit Cyprus later today. The trip comes after a UK base there was struck by a drone on Sunday, with others intercepted in recent days.

Following the initial strikes by the US and Israel on Iran over the weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said protections for British bases and personnel had been stepped up to their highest level.

The UK is sending the HMS Dragon warship to the region, but it is not expected to sail from Portsmouth until next week. It is currently being loaded with ammunition.

Image source, PA Media

More explosions have been reported over Manama, Bahrain, says a reporter for the AFP news agency in the city.

Loud explosions have also been heard in Doha, Qatar this morning, as Iran seemingly continues its attacks on Gulf countries in retaliation for the US-Israeli air campaign.

Image source, Vantor / Reuters

A flight bringing UK citizens home from Oman is expected to take off today, a government minister says, after it was delayed last night by a "technical issue".

Alex Norris MP, minister for border security and asylum, tells BBC Breakfast that "in the days to come, we’re expecting more flights".

He says he knows of two more flights scheduled to leave after this one, but doesn't want to put an upper limit on that.

Norris also says there has been a "significant uptick in commercial flights".

Iranian state television says its naval fighters have hit a US tanker this morning in the northern Gulf.

The ship was "hit by a missile in the north of the Persian Gulf" and is "currently on fire", the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement read on state television.

The IRGC said the group had "full control" over the Straits of Hormuz, which runs in between the Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

The incident has not been independently confirmed. The UK Maritime Trade Organisation (MTO) earlier said a tanker was struck off the coast of Kuwait this morning, in the northern Gulf.

It says: "The master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity.

"There is oil in the water coming from a cargo tank which could have some environmental impact, the vessel has taken on water, there are no fires reported and the crew are safe and well."

Let's return to big news from yesterday - the sinking of an Iranian ship near Sri Lanka by a US torpedo, fired from a submarine.

The ship, the Iris Dena, was carrying "almost 130 sailors", says Iran's foreign minister.

Abbas Araghchi also says the vessel - which he describes as "a guest of India's navy" - was struck by the US "without warning".

"The US will bitterly regret the precedent it has set," Araghchi says.

Yesterday, a spokesperson from Sri Lanka's navy said that 180 people were believed to be on board, according to the documentation of the ship.

Sri Lankan authorities say 32 people have been rescued and 80 bodies have been found so far. With the updated figure from Araghchi, this leaves around 18 people unaccounted for.

Explosions have been heard in Qatar's capital, Doha, according to a reporter there from the AFP news agency,

Qatar earlier began evacuating residents living near the US Embassy in Doha as a "precautionary" measure.

As we've been reporting, the first UK government-arranged repatriation flight to bring Britons home from the Middle East has been delayed.

Poppy Cleary, 27, is one of those stranded in Muscat - Oman's capital, where the flight was meant to depart from.

"I registered, I paid the £350 and then I never heard back," she tells the BBC.

She says the British Embassy in Oman told her the first flight was not for people who had been diverted to Muscat, but instead for people who had come to Oman from "unsafe countries" including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

"Clearly I didn't get on the flight - it's a bit frustrating that they couldn't even let me know that I hadn't made the cut."

Meanwhile, there were emotional scenes at Edinburgh Airport last night as some 300 passengers landed on an Emirates flight from Dubai.

Andrew Crow and Jean Weir, from Glasgow, had checked out of the Fairmont The Palm hotel in Dubai just hours before an explosion there on Saturday.

"The flight was a long one on the way back, I can assure you, but we are relieved to be home," Andrew says.

Image source, Reuters

New images show destruction and damaged buildings in Beirut, after days of Israeli airstrikes.

Lebanese media reported last night that three people had been killed and six others injured after two strikes near the capital. New strikes were reported in southern Beirut - a Hezbollah stronghold - this morning.

Israel earlier said it hit "several command centers belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation".

Meanwhile, Lebanese state media reports that an Israeli drone strike hit an apartment in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli in Lebanon, killing senior Hamas official Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife.

The IDF has not yet commented.

Image source, Reuters

Greg McKenzie
Live reporter

The BBC was able to speak to some of the passengers waiting for the delayed UK government flight in Oman last night.

One passenger said: "We've been transferred to a hotel and it's expected to depart later today. It's a total farce."

Another described it as "a very difficult situation for everyone", after "a very long day".

The person said there had been "complications", but that delays were "nothing sinister, I think mostly administrative issues".

Our correspondent Henry Zeffman earlier reported that the first flight organised by the UK government to bring citizens home from the Middle East has been delayed.

The Foreign Office has now confirmed the charter flight did not leave Oman as planned last night.

A spokesperson says: "The UK government charter flight was not able to depart from Oman yesterday as planned due to technical issues. The flight is now expected to depart later today."

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport has been reopened after it was shut down five days ago at the start of the joint Israeli and US military strikes on Iran.

A first repatriation flight from Athens landed at the airport this morning bringing home Israelis who were stranded abroad.

Israeli airlines are expected to help fly back an estimated 100,000 Israelis who have been unable to return since Israel closed its airspace on Saturday.

Israeli authorities approved a partial reopening of airspace in stages, subject to security developments