Israel has carried out heavy airstrikes on Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut after the Iran-backed Lebanese group launched missiles and drones towards Israel. The strikes come in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and mark a significant escalation in the regional conflict.
Residents of Beirut were woken by around a dozen blasts at 3am as Israel struck three different locations in the south of the capital. Bombings continued into the late morning, with the area almost entirely deserted by noon. The explosions were heard from miles away, and warplanes dropped bombs over wide swathes of southern Lebanon, collapsing buildings in villages near Tyre.
At least 31 people were killed and 149 injured in the strikes, according to Lebanon's health ministry. The Israeli military claimed the strikes on Dahieh had killed several senior Hezbollah officers. Hezbollah said it had launched missiles and drones at a missile defence facility near Haifa in retaliation for Khamenei's killing and in defence of Lebanon.
The conflict has expanded to much of the Middle East, with Iran attacking Gulf Arab states and a drone hitting a UK military base in Cyprus. The US president, Donald Trump, gave contradictory statements on a possible diplomatic off-ramp, while Iran's Ali Larijani said Iran would not negotiate with the United States.
Streams of people fled Dahieh by car and foot, and highways were gridlocked as residents headed northwards. Videos showed buildings engulfed in flames and burnt-out cars. The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 55 villages and towns across Lebanon and deployed 100,000 reservists, many along the border with Lebanon.
