We can now bring you the latest statement from the British Ministry of Defence, following an apparent Iranian drone attack on RAF Akrotiri last night:

"The safety of our personnel and their families is our absolute priority.

"As a precautionary measure we are moving family members who live at RAF Akrotiri to alternative accommodation nearby on the island of Cyprus.

"Our base and personnel continue to operate as normal protecting the safety of Britain and our interests."

The RAF base is in part of Cyprus that is British sovereign territory, formally known as the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Three armed drones have been shot down above Erbil airport, in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, according to Reuters news agency, citing security sources.

US troops are stationed at the airport.

This follows reports from a journalist with the AFP news agency that loud bangs had been heard near the base.

The US also intercepted drones at the airport over the weekend.

Image source, EPA

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) tells the BBC there was minimal damage at RAF Akrotiri after last night’s drone attack.

Operations continue as normal, it adds.

It also denies reports that some staff may be sent home from Cyprus.

Investigations are under way to establish where the drone was fired from.

The US embassy in Kuwait is telling people to avoid coming to the embassy, and to shelter at home.

"Do not come to the embassy," says the guidance published on its website. "Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside."

It also urges US citizens in Kuwait to "shelter in place, review security plans in the event of an attack and to stay alert in case of additional future attacks".

US embassy personnel "are sheltering in place", it adds.

Earlier smoke was seen rising from the area of the US embassy in Kuwait.

Image source, EPA

The Israeli military has launched an "offensive campaign" against Hezbollah that is likely to last several days, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir confirms.

“We have begun an offensive campaign against Hezbollah. We are not just on the defensive, now we go on the offence,” he says.

“We need to prepare for several days of fighting, many. We need strong defensive readiness and continuous offensive preparedness, in waves."

Smoke has been seen rising from, or near, the US Embassy in Kuwait, news agencies AFP and Reuters report.

Firefighters and ambulances have been seen in the area, Reuters says.

We will bring you more details when we get them.

Israeli strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon have killed 31 people and injured 149, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

The toll is preliminary, a statement adds.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest.

Lebanon pulled into widening conflictpublished at 05:50 GMT 2 March

05:50 GMT 2 March

Jon Donnison
Reporting from Jerusalem

There is now a new front in a war that is spreading across the Middle East.

Last night Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militia group that has been backed by Iran to the tune of billions of dollars, fired missiles at the Israeli city of Haifa.

Israel responded with a wide-ranging air assault. Hezbollah’s stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut was targeted as well as areas close to the city’s airport.

In the south of the country, Israel has told people in more than 50 Lebanese villages to evacuate, with strikes there too.

Hezbollah is no longer the force it was after being pummelled by Israel in the war 18 months ago. But with strong ideological, religious and financial ties to Iran, it was almost inevitable the group would be pulled into a conflict in which almost every country in the Middle East is now embroiled.

About half an hour ago the IDF said in a statement that it had identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel.

The Home Front Command sent a "precautionary directive" to mobile phones in the relevant areas, telling people to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.

About 10 minutes ago, the IDF released another statement saying people across the country are now "permitted to leave protected spaces" but to "remain near them".

At a glance, here's the damage that Iranian strikes have caused in Israel:

At least nine people were killed and dozens were injured after an Iranian missile strike on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday - the deadliest attack on Israel since this war began.

Missile attacks continued on Israel into Sunday evening. Most were intercepted but one fell on a street in the Jerusalem area injuring at least three people.

Image source, Reuters

Before the IDF announced fresh strikes in Lebanon, a senior Israeli military official was warning that Hezbollah would "pay a heavy price" for its strikes.

"Hezbollah Chose the Iranian Regime Over the State of Lebanon and Initiated an Attack on Our Civilians. We Were Prepared - and They Will Pay a Heavy Price," said Rafi Milo, the chief of the IDF's Northern Command, in a recent statement published by the IDF.

He says they will "continue to protect" residents in northern Israel and "will not evacuate" them.

The IDF, however, is "acting to evacuate civilians in southern Lebanon ahead of further strikes", he says.

"The strikes continue - their intensity will increase."

The IDF says it has launched a new wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, where it is 07:30 local time.

The targets that have been struck include weapon storage facilities and additional infrastructure in several parts of Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.

The strikes come after the IDF said residents of more than 50 villages in Lebanon should evacuate "for your safety", saying, "Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities or its military assets is putting their life at risk."

In the very early hours of Monday Israel, began launching strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after the militant group fired rockets at Israel.

Lebanon's prime minister Nawaf Salam warned those launching rockets from southern Lebanon against it, saying, "Regardless of the party standing behind it, the launching of rockets from southern Lebanon is an irresponsible and suspicious act that endangers Lebanon's security and safety and provides Israel with pretexts to continue its attacks on it."

Correction 23 April: The original version of this post mistakenly said “Israel’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam” instead of “Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam”, an error which was changed shortly after publication.

Following the reports of explosions in Doha, French news agency AFP is also reporting that blasts have been reported in Bahrain and Dubai.

It cites accounts from its journalists on the ground.

There are plans for the "temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel based at RAF Akrotiri", the Sovereign Base Areas Administration says in a statement.

The RAF Akrotiri airbase was hit by a suspected drone strike, according to the British Ministry of Defence. There were no casualties in the suspected strike, the BBC understands.

The dispersal is a "precautionary measure", the statement says. "Whilst we appreciate people may be worried, we do not believe this is necessary and temporary dispersal only applies to RAF Akrotiri Station".

Other facilities in Episkopi, Dhekelia and Ayios Nikolaos will operate "as normal", the statement adds.

In an earlier statement published hours ago, the Sovereign Base Areas Administration urged residents of Akrotiri village to "shelter in place until further notice".

Explosions have been heard in Qatar's capital of Doha, Reuters and Agence France-Presse are reporting, citing eyewitnesses.

We will bring you details as we get them.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The joint US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran now has an American casualty count, after the Pentagon confirmed that three US military service members had been killed in action.

Donald Trump has said that the nation grieves their deaths, but they may not be the last.

“That’s the way it is,” he said in a video recorded from his Mar-a-Lago club and released by the White House while Air Force One was in flight, en route back to Washington DC.

The line seemed unscripted. And it may turn out to be ill-advised.

If the number of American deaths grows, Trump’s remark, along with an earlier comment in an interview that “we expect casualties, but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world”, could come back to haunt him.

George W Bush’s speech under a “mission accomplished” banner, delivered from the deck of an aircraft carrier returning from the early action during the Iraq War in 2003, is but one memorable example of how words — and images — can become significant political liabilities as circumstances change.

For the moment, however, the bombing grinds on, while life in America continues almost as normal.

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani has just said on X that his country "will not negotiate with the United States".

Larijani was responding to a report that officials in Tehran are planning to revive talks with Washington.

Larijani is the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and was an adviser to the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While Trump was warning of future casualties, US Central Command has released footage of the ongoing strikes against Iran.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Travelling with the president

In his speech announcing the start of Operation Epic Fury against Iran early on Saturday, Donald Trump clearly laid out the prospect that US service members may fall in the days and weeks ahead.

"That often happens in war," he added.

Now, US Central Command has confirmed that three US service members have been killed and five seriously wounded.

As far as wars go, these casualties are still light. Military experts I've spoken to said they believe that combat casualties were to be expected, alongside non-combat deaths from the inherent risks of moving massive amounts of personnel and materiel across the world.

But for Trump, each American casualty raises the stakes domestically - where he is keen to juxtapose quick, successful and relatively clean military actions with the drawn-out conflicts of the Global War on Terror, which saw a steady trickle of US casualties in the headlines.

In the coming days, we are likely to hear that case be repeatedly made by President Trump and other administration officials.

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Beirut

Image source, EPA

We’ve just received voice notes from a man from southern Lebanon as he flees with his family.“It’s absolutely miserable,” said the 55-year-old shop owner. "We were just sitting at home and then suddenly this happened. We were shocked and we quickly packed and woke up the kids and got in the car. Now we’re stuck on blocked roads because of the massive displacement from the south.”

The father of three, who asked not to be named, says he is driving “without knowing where we are heading or where we will end up”.

He added that his parents, living in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh were also “stuck and trying to get out”.

"We are worn out having to leave our homes and our land time and time again,” he said.

The Israeli military has called on people in dozens of villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of possible further strikes.

Israel has told residents of more than 50 towns and villages in Lebanon to evacuate, as it warned of attacks.

People in the identified areas must move at least 1,000 metres away to open areas.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move at least 1,000 metres away from the villages to open areas," the warning says.

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, its facilities or its military assets is putting their life at risk."

The villages listed are: Sarifa, Maaroub, Selaa (Tyre), Debaal, Bafliyeh, Barish, Arzoun, Qlayleh, Al-Shahabiya (Tayr Zibna), Dardghaya, Bastiyat, Arab Salim, Housh al-Rafqa, Yahmar (West Bekaa), Maydoun, Dalafi, Ain Qana, Knisseh, Mansouri (Tyre), Majdal Zoun, Mazraat Buyout al-Sayyad, Jabal al-Butm, Zibqin, Al-Samaya, Aytit, Qana, Al-Bayyada (Tyre), Deir Aames, Aita al-Jabal (al-Zout), Hanine (Bint Jbeil), Haris, Haddatha, Mahrouna, Beit Lif, Yater (Bint Jbeil), Shaqra, Houla, Baraachit, Bint Jbeil, Jmaijmeh, Aitaroun, Safad al-Battikh, Al-Bazourieh, Aaynata, Hanawiya, Jannata, Burj al-Shamali, Maarakeh, Siddiqine, Al-Majadel, Wadi Jilo, Drouiss (Baalbek), and Mais al-Jabal.