Lebanon is being forced to live a war that not all its people wantpublished at 19:13 GMT 14 March

19:13 GMT 14 March

Lina Sinjab
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Beirut

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Israel's strikes continue to hit the south of Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs and other neighbourhoods.

Hezbollah is adamant it will continue fighting until the end, ignoring constant calls from the government to end the war and stop its military activities.

Diplomatic efforts are under way to put an end to the war. As French President Emmanuel Macron offered to host direct talks between the Lebanese and Israelis, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres travelled to Lebanon on Saturday to show solidarity with the country and call on all parties to respect international law.

But the warring parties are not adhering to this approach.

Israel appears to want to finish what it started in 2024 - that is to eliminate Hezbollah.

On the other hand, many see Hezbollah as acting under the order of Iran, which now says they are co-co-ordinating strikes on Israel.

This co-operation has put Lebanon and its government under immense pressure, as people are forced to live a war they don’t want.

As strikes continue in Lebanon, there is pressure for direct talks to take place with Israelpublished at 18:53 GMT 14 March

18:53 GMT 14 March

Wyre Davies
Reporting from Beirut

Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, which began after Hezbollah began firing rockets towards northern Israel in support of Iran, have killed more than 800 people, says the Lebanese health ministry - and more than 800,000 have been displaced from their homes.

Thus far there have been few serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and after launching a £230m humanitarian appeal for Lebanon, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said an expansion of the war would be good for no one.

"The Lebanese people did not choose this war. They were dragged into it. And my message to the warring partners is clear - stop the fighting. Stop the bombing," he said.

Israel is striking several parts of Lebanon, including the eastern Bekaa valley where it accuses Hezbollah of organising campaigns and storing weapons.

We saw the aftermath of a strike on a house that had been completely destroyed. Eight people were killed, including several children. Yellow flags and pictures of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicated it was a Hezbollah-supporting home, and where Israel later said there were Hezbollah operatives present.

But a surviving uncle, Hassan Tahan, said that nothing could justify such an action: "Israel is wrong if they think that killing children and civilians will separate us from the resistance. On the contrary, it makes us more loyal to them. I'm even more steadfast in my support now than I was before."

Previous full-scale invasions of Lebanon have ended in disaster for Israel and, if it were to try to create a big buffer zone in southern Lebanon, there's no indication for how long an Israeli occupation would last.

There is pressure for direct talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments - but if they happen, they won't include Hezbollah, which says it is determined to carry on its fight against Israel which it says had also repeatedly breached a previous ceasefire agreement.

The US embassy in Baghdad has warned its citizens to leave Iraq "immediately". It also urges anyone who is thinking about staying put to "reconsider".

"Iran and its aligned terrorist militias pose a major threat to public safety in Iraq. Attacks have occurred against US citizens, US interests, and critical infrastructure," it writes on X.

As we reported earlier, the embassy building was hit in an attack on Saturday - watch our video of thick smoke rising from the site below.

"Do not attempt to come to the Embassy in Baghdad or the Consulate General in Erbil due to the ongoing risk of rockets, drones, and mortars in Iraqi airspace," the embassy says.

Image source, Reuters

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken to US news outlet MS Now, touching on several points about the ongoing war between Iran, and the US and Israel.

We've listened in - here are the key takeaways:

On the new supreme leader: When asked about reports that Mojtaba Khamenei is injured, Araghchi says: "They will see soon that there is no problem with the new supreme leader. He is performing his duties... and he will continue to do that".

Strait of Hormuz: The key oil shipping channel is "open", Araghchi says, adding it's only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to Iran's "enemies". All others are free to pass, he says.

• For context: A number of ships operating in and around the strait have been attacked since the war started. On Thursday, in his first public statement, Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep blocking it.

On civilian buildings being targeted: Araghchi says Iran is targeting American bases and assets, which are "unfortunately located in the territory of our neighbours". He then accuses the US of attacking civilian targets in Iran - something the US has repeatedly denied since the start of the war.

On Russia and China: They are Iran's "strategy partners", Araghchi says.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

At least 15 people have been killed in Iran following strikes on an industrial zone in the central province of Isfahan, IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency reports.

The attack, which happened earlier, is reported to have hit a "factory producing cooling and heating equipment" at a time when "a number of workers in the factory were working".

Fars adds that a number have been injured, without specifying how many.

Kuwait's army says its defence systems are currently confronting both missile and drone attacks.

Any explosions are the result of interceptions, it says in a statement.

We'll bring you more on this when we hear it.

Kuwait's defence ministry says its air defence systems have detected seven hostile drones on Saturday, two of which struck the Ahmed Al-Jaber Air Base, causing some material damage in the base's vicinity.

Three members of the armed forces were injured in the incident, the statement adds.

Three of the drones were shot down and the remaining two fell outside of the threat area and posed no danger, the ministry says.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warns that another round of Iranian missiles has been detected - the sixth wave of strikes targeting the country on Saturday.

Three rounds came within less than two hours earlier this afternoon.

Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat, the IDF says, before asking the public in affected areas to seek shelter.

Imogen James
Live reporter

Strait of Hormuz:

• US President Donald Trump has asked for a host of nations, including the UK and China, to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping channel through which about 20% of the world's oil usually passes
• A number of ships - 16, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations - have been attacked while operating in or near the passage since the war started on 28 February
• On Thursday, Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep blocking the strait. On Saturday, Trump said "one way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!"

Strikes continue:

• There have been several instances of strikes launched between Israel and Iran throughout Saturday. Sirens and explosions were heard in Jerusalem, with two minor injuries reported from earlier strikes in Eilat
• In Iran, a woman told the BBC all her thoughts were "focused on survival" - new images show damage to both countries
• Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokesperson for the Iranian government, said more than 200 students and teachers have been killed since the start of the war, and that 120 schools have been "severely damaged"
• In Lebanon, the death toll has risen to 826, according to state media

Oil facilities:

• The UAE port of Fujairah was targeted by a strike earlier on Saturday, causing a large fire. It's a key location for the refuelling of ships and one of the largest oil storage facilities in the region
• Meanwhile, the US has said more than 90 military targets on Iran's Kharg Island have been destroyed. The vital island in the northern Gulf is the terminal for close to 90% of the Iran's oil exports
• Tehran responded, saying its oil facilities there remain intact, with the country's foreign minister warning his country would respond to attacks on Iranian energy facilities by targeting US companies in the region

"As we've said previously, we are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region," a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson says.

• As a reminder: Trump posted on Truth Social earlier, saying he wanted allies - including the UK - to help keep the shipping channel "open and safe". Iran has been threatening certain ships passing through the region, leading to a standstill. Here's why the strait is important.

With no evidence this war is ending yet, Trump's call to send ships to Strait of Hormuz may be prematurepublished at 16:39 GMT 14 March

16:39 GMT 14 March

Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent

President Trump’s call for allies to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open may be premature - especially as there’s no evidence that this war is ending.

The reality is that even the US Navy is currently not escorting tankers through this narrow shipping lane.

At present it appears too dangerous - with a number of tankers trying to transit already having been hit.

President Macron has said France is willing to send warships to the Gulf as "purely an escort mission". But he also said that would only be after the most "intense phase of the conflict had ended".

As well as France, Trump suggested Japan, China, South Korea and the UK could send warships to escort shipping.

Yet only last week, Trump stated that the US did not need the UK to send an aircraft carrier to the region "after we’ve already won".

The Royal Navy has two aircraft carriers. Though one of them, HMS Prince of Wales, has been placed on high readiness, she’s due to sail to the North Atlantic.

The Navy has no other warships in the region - though the destroyer HMS Dragon is now on her way to provide additional air defences for Cyprus.

Iran and Israel are continuing to fire missiles at one another.

Earlier, we reported that sirens were sounding in Jerusalem while someone in east Tehran told our BBC Persian colleague more strikes were beginning in the Iranian capital.

Here are some of the latest images we're seeing come out of both countries:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

In central Israel, images show debris on the street and a car damaged by Iranian strikes.

Earlier today, we also shared photos from the city of Shoham, where strikes took the roof off a building in a residential area.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Iran's foreign minister says his country will respond to any attack on Iranian energy facilities by targeting US companies in the region, according to the Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

Abbas Araghchi is quoted as saying: "If Iranian facilities are targeted, our forces will target facilities of American companies in the region or companies in which the United States has shares.

"We will definitely respond to these attacks, while at the same time acting with caution so that densely populated areas are not targeted."

It comes hours after the US military targeted Kharg Island - critical to Iran as it's thought about 90% of its oil exports pass through the island.

An Iranian news agency later said the US had targeted air defences, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar - it added there had been no damage to oil infrastructure.

Faren Taghizadeh
BBC Persian

I spoke to Sadaf (not her real name) on Friday night. She's from Karaj, Iran.

She tells me she's mentally and emotionally "wrecked". Most of her day is spent checking the news and trying to get in contact with people she knows. "My life is basically paralysed," she says.

"Creatively and artistically there’s almost nothing in my mind right now - which I guess is natural, because all my thoughts are focused on survival."

Physically, she says she feels "okay", other than headaches.

The war has impacted friends and neighbours, too.

"Our upstairs neighbour said their relative’s house was in the east, and it got destroyed. They had a bird and a cat - both of them died," she says.

Meanwhile, a friend with elderly relatives was left with broken windows, and no electricity and gas for several hours after a strike.

She also knows people in eastern Tehran. "They've had it pretty rough there," she says.

Image source, Reuters

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
Senior reporter, BBC Persian

A source in east Tehran tells me strikes have started again on the Iranian capital.

We'll bring you further updates on this when we get them.

The Israeli military says people can now stop sheltering following the latest round of Iranian strikes.

A little earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces urged people to take shelter after it detected new attacks.

Search and Rescue forces are now working in several locations in central Israel after reports of "fallen projectiles", it says.

"According to initial reports, there are no casualties," a spokesperson from the Fire and Rescue Services says. "Teams are continuing searches at all locations. No trapped individuals have been reported," they add.

Image source, Royal Thai Navy

In its latest update on 12 March, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, since 28 February, it had received 20 reports of incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman.

Sixteen of those ships have been attacked, it adds, and four cases of suspicious activity recorded in the area.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree, was hit while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday morning, the ship's owner told BBC Verify.

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz in his first public statement on Thursday.

Verified footage showed two tankers on fire in Iraqi waters at the north of the Gulf late on Wednesday and UKMTO reported the ships had been "struck by an unknown projectile".

Safesea Vishnu, a US-owned vessel heading to India, is one of the most recent boats to have been attacked.

It was hit by an "unmanned speed boat carrying explosives" which "rammed into it, resulting in a major fire onboard", Indian authorities said.

• The Strait of Hormuz has become a sticking point in the US-Israel war with Iran. US President Trump vowed a short while ago to get the Strait "open and safe", "one way or the other". He called on the UK and other nations to join the US in sending ships to help secure the shipping lane

More missiles have been launched towards Israel from Iran, the Israeli Defense Forces say.

In a recent update, the IDF adds that defence systems are working to intercept the threat and the public has been asked to enter shelters.

It follows a series of strikes in rapid succession launched from Iran towards Israel a short while ago.

Sirens sounded in Jerusalem, Israel, and injuries have been reported in Eilat in southern Israel.

As we've just reported, US President Donald Trump says "one way or the other" the US will get the Strait of Hormuz "open and safe".

The Strait of Hormuz is a key trade artery through which around 20% of the world's oil passes.

Since the beginning of the conflict, numerous ships have been reported to have come under attack in the area and Iran's new supreme leader on Thursday said that Iran should keep using the "lever of blocking" the Strait.

About 3,000 or so ships usually sail through the corridor each month. In 2025, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait per day.

It is deep enough for the world's biggest crude oil tankers, and is used by the major oil and gas producers in the Middle East – and their customers.

US President Donald Trump says that "one way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!"

In a post on his platform Truth Social, he writes that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK will send warships to the key shipping channel so it can "no longer be a threat" by Iran.

He adds that many countries will be sending warships to keep the key shipping channel "open and safe".

In the meantime, he says, the US will be "bombing the hell out of the shoreline and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water".

He claims the US has "destroyed 100% of Iran's military capability" but says it's still "easy" for them use drones, mines and close-range missiles.

Iran's representative in Geneva, Ali Bahrani, said Trump's claims about eliminating Tehran's capabilities are "based on fabricated lies".

In our next post, we'll bring you a reminder of what you need to know about the Strait of Hormuz.