Will Christou reports:

Hezbollah said in a statement on Sunday morning that the “first phase” of its attack against Israel was completed, saying it was a response for the killing of its top commander in Beirut nearly a month ago.

The Iran-backed group said it had successfully targeted 11 Israeli military sites with drones and over 320 Katyusha rockets.

It added that it would release further details about its attack against Israel soon.

Julian Borger

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has just been speaking to his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, about the airstrikes on Lebanon, assuring the defence secretary they were defensive in nature and that Israel

“Minister Gallant and secretary Austin discussed the importance of avoiding regional escalation,” the Israeli defence ministry said in a statement.

But it added:

Minister Gallant emphasised that Israel’s defence establishment is determined to defend the citizens of Israel and will use all the means at its disposal to remove imminent threats.

“The defence establishment is following developments in Beirut and is prepared to deploy defensive and offensive means,” the statement said.

“Minister Gallant expressed his appreciation to secretary Austin for standing with Israel and for the ongoing cooperation, which contributes to the security of the state of Israel and to regional stability.”

Israeli defence minister declares 48-hour state of emergency

Julian Borger

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has declared a state of emergency for the next 48 hours, a declaration which gives the Israel Defense Forces powers to issue restrictions on civilian movement.

Gallant and the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, were shown at a situation room in the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, known as the Kirya, from where Netanyahu’s office said they were “managing the situation”.

The Israeli security cabinet is due to meet imminently, at 7am local time.

Following the latest situation assessment, Gallant had declared a “special situation on the home front” across Israel, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The declaration on the state of emergency enables the IDF to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where it may be relevant.

Israeli military observers had predicted a significant Hezbollah attack in revenge for earlier Israeli air strikes against its leadership. They noted that Sunday evening marked the start of the Shia holiday of Arbaeen (40 days) marking the end of the annual mourning period for the death of the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Hussein, a symbol of resistance and solidarity.

Hezbollah said it had begun an attack on Israel with a large number of drones and rockets in response for the killing of its top commander in a Beirut suburb last month.

The Iranian-backed, Lebanon-based group said on Sunday it targeted an identified “special military target” as well as Israel’s Iron Dome platforms and other sites but that the full response would take “some time”, Reuters reports.

Israel says strikes on Hezbollah are pre-emptive action

Julian Borger

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are depicting their air strikes as a pre-emptive action in the face of an imminent Hezbollah missile and rocket attack, and warned an “extensive” Hezbollah response is imminent. The all-important question now is whether the cycle of escalation can be contained before it becomes an all-out war.

The Israeli news agency Ynet cited reports from Lebanon saying the air force struck 40 targets, and that Hezbollah fired what it claimed were 150 rockets in sustained barrages into northern Israel. Israel is now braced for Hezbollah to use its longer-range missiles against Israeli cities further south.

The IDF spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said:

Hezbollah will soon fire rockets, and possibly missiles and UAVs [drones], towards Israeli territory.

From right next to the homes of Lebanese civilians in the South of Lebanon, we can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering Lebanese civilians.

We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety. Hezbollah’s ongoing aggression risks dragging the people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, and the whole region, into a wider escalation.

The scale of Israel’s response to any such attack will also help determine whether this escalation on its northern border can be contained or not.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. It is approaching 6.15am in Tel Aviv and Beirut.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has launched strikes inside Lebanon after assessing that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement was preparing to fire rockets and missiles towards Israel.

“The IDF identified the Hezbollah terrorist organisation preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement. “In response to these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon.”

Flights to and from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv were suspended, and Israel’s cabinet was to meet at 7am (4am GMT), Israeli media reported.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the strikes, which came amid heightened expectations of an escalation between the two sides since a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last month killed 12 youngsters and the Israeli military assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut in response.

The IDF said new civil defence instructions would be issued to the population shortly. It warned civilians in southern Lebanon to stay away from areas where Hezbollah operates.