Israel carrying out 'extensive' strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah fires missile at Tel Aviv

 

• Israel's military says it is carrying out a new wave of "extensive" strikes in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa area

• Ten people have been killed in the attacks, Lebanon's health ministry says

• The strikes come after Israel said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah - the first such rocket to target the country's biggest city, Tel Aviv

• Hezbollah says the attack was directed at the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad

• The Iran-backed group says it is resisting Israeli "aggression" and acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel says it aims to remove the threat from Hezbollah and return displaced residents

• Meanwhile, the UK PM has told British nationals in Lebanon to "leave immediately". US citizens have also been told to leave the country.

• Hezbollah shows it remains a threat with Tel Aviv attackpublished at 11:05 British Summer Time

  11:05 BST

  Hugo Bachega
  Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

  Image source,Reuters

  Image caption,

  Israel intercepted rockets fired from Lebanon to Tel Aviv

  Today’s attack by Hezbollah, the first time the group targeted Tel Aviv with a missile, could be a message to Israel: they may have been weakened but they remain a threat.

  The group has been hit by an unprecedented wave of attacks that severely damaged its ability to operate – but has not stopped its ability to fight.

  First, last week, the pagers and walkie-talkie explosions, that limited their communications. Then, an airstrike on its stronghold of Dahieh, in southern Beirut, that essentially decimated the chain of command of its main fighting unit, the Radwan Force.

  And on Monday, an intense and widespread air campaign targeting positions including rockets launchers and weapons storage sites. The airstrikes killed around 500 people, including many civilians, the Lebanese health minister says.

  It was the deadliest day in Lebanon since the end of the civil war, in 1990.

  Hezbollah has remained defiant, vowing to continue with its attacks, amid speculation that the Israeli strategy could include a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, to create a so-called buffer zone, destroy its infrastructure and push fighters away from the border.

  Meanwhile, thousands are still on the move, heading north in search of safety.

• THIS AND MORE UPDATES AT: Israel-Lebanon latest: Israel intercepts Hezbollah missile fired at Mossad in Tel Aviv