Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill 31, health ministry says

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.

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.

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."