I’m here at a strike site in Rishon LeZion, just outside Tel Aviv, where last night two people were killed after an Iranian missile destroyed several homes.

Dozens of rescuers and security forces, some carrying guns, are now combing through the rubble.

One tells me that sniffer dogs were sent in first to check for leftover ordnance.

Diggers are being used to shift some of the rubble - and just now there was a crash as debris from a damaged roof fell to the floor.

workers stand beside rubble as a truck clears debris

  • 'Nothing is normal': Quiet streets and emptying supermarkets in Tehran

    Tom Joyner
    Live reporter

    A bald man stands on a street in Tehran looking at the camera.

    In Ramin Mostaghim's neighbourhood in Tehran, supermarket shelves are emptying as residents rush to stock up on essential goods like rice.

    "They are hoarding whatever they can because they are worried about the future," the 67-year-old journalist tells me.

    At night, Mostaghim lies awake listening to the sounds of explosions. By day, life on the street has quietened, with fewer people going to coffee shops or running errands.

    He recounts a conversation he overheard where a man was complaining to a shopkeeper about having to send his daughter to school despite the unfolding war.

    "Nothing is normal," he says. "There is a different mood. People are trying to figure out what will happen next."

  • Israeli military says nine Iranian nuclear scientists killed

    The IDF says that it has killed nine Iranian nuclear scientists and experts. Previously, the Israeli military said it killed six during the initial wave of strikes it launched against Iran on Thursday night.

    Israel now says the nine were killed "at the beginning" of the operation.

    Separately, an Israeli military official has said the Esfahan and Natanz nuclear sites have been significantly damaged in strikes, according to reports from the Reuters news agency.

    The official tells Reuters that over 150 targets in Iran have been attacked. Most drones and missiles that have been launched towards Israel have been intercepted, the official says.

  • Iranian state media reports 60 killed in strike

    Iranian state media has reported that 60 people, including 20 children, have been killed in an Israeli strike on Friday on a residential building in Tehran.

    Israel has said it is targeting Iranian military sites, including nuclear facilities.

    The latest official death toll we received from Iran was on Friday - when the country's representative to the UN Security Council said 78 had been killed during Israeli strikes.

    It's not clear if the 60 people reported today are included in the previous number, and the BBC has not independently verified the figures.

  • 'Tehran will burn' if missiles do not stop - Israeli defence minister

    Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, has said "Tehran will burn" if Iran continues to launch missiles.

    In comments made during an assessment with military officials, Katz says: "The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and creating a reality in which they, especially the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal attack on Israeli civilians."

    israel katzEPA

  • UK hasn't yet contributed to efforts to defend Israel from Iranian strikes

    Jack Fenwick
    Political correspondent

    In the last hour or so, Iranian state media has reported that Iran has warned the UK not to help Israel stop its strikes on the country.

    They say that Iran will target ships and bases belonging to the UK, US and , if they defend Israel against Iranian drones or missiles.

    Downing Street aren’t responding to those comments, but as of this morning it’s understood the UK has not taken part in any military action, including efforts to defend Israel against those strikes.

    I was told yesterday that there’d been no request from Israel to the UK for that type of assistance.

    Government sources haven’t been confirming this morning whether that’s still the case.

    When Iran has targeted Israel with drones in the past, the UK has sent RAF Typhoon jets from Cyprus to shoot them down.

  • Iran warns it will target UK, US and bases in region if they defend Israel

    Iran has warned the United States, United Kingdom and not to help Israel stop Tehran's retaliatory strikes, according to Reuters news agency citing Iranian state media.

    Reports say that Tehran would target military bases and ships located in the region if the three countries provide to Israel.

  • Jerusalem's Old City quiet following retaliatory strikes

    Sebastian Usher and Ione Wells
    Reporting from Jerusalem

    There are barriers at the steps leading down to Damascus Gate - one of the main entrance points to the Old City in Jerusalem. The Israeli border guard near the entryway tells the few tourists hoping to go into the Old City that everything there is closed.

    The IDF have closed the Old City, and the streets are deserted.

    This is borne out by the unusual quiet of the labyrinth of ancient alleys.

    Usually, you have to take care not to be run over by a teenager on a scooter or trailer pulled by a shopkeeper. But this morning, almost all the shops are shuttered up.

    While the more severe alerts telling people to stay by shelters have lifted, most people and businesses still seem to be following the guidance not to gather or open non-essential businesses and workplaces.

    A few fruit stalls, spice shops and butchers' are open, but the usual vibrant bustle is missing.

    And the hundreds of Muslim worshippers hurrying to Al Aqsa mosque to pray are also absent, as access has been temporarily closed for security reasons.

    a quiet alley in the old city. two people can be seen but it is otherwise quiet
    streets are empty in the old city. an empty roadway can be seen beyond steel gates

  • Israel sees this as a 'war of defence' - former Shin Bet chief

    "We see it as a war of defence," Ami Ayalon, the former head of Israel's security agency Shin Bet, and commander in chief of the Israeli Navy, told the BBC's Newshour programme this morning.

    "Most Israelis see Iran as major existential threat," he explains.

    "They are very, very close to reaching a military nuclear capability - as I understand our intelligence, it was clear from now on we will not have the ability [to strike] if we do not do it now."

    Asked by presenter Celia Hatton about the role of US President Donald Trump in the strikes, Ayalon says: "He gave the impression to our prime minister that he will everything our prime minister will do."

    He adds that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will "play the bad guy" and attack, "and America will be the good guy… a day later when Iran understands the consequences of not g" a nuclear deal with the US, then "it will be easier for [Trump] to achieve this deal."

  • Analysis

    Iran will see this as a battle for survival

    Lyse Doucet
    Chief international correspondent

    Prime Minister Netanyahu has opened another open-front war.

    He says it will take “as many days as it will take” and he’s been clear that his ambition is not just to destroy Iran's ability to make a nuclear weapon; he also wants to bring down the regime.

    The Iranian regime is going to see this as a battle for survival - this is something they have also been preparing for.

    They will throw everything they have at this war.

    Their attacks so far have been limited. The Israeli intelligence assessment seems to be that despite the damage to Iran's arsenal after the last 20 months of war in the region, Iran still has about 2,000 ballistic missiles and a capacity to produce more.

    They’re now using them to hit strategic targets which are in or near populated centres.

    In Tel Aviv, for example, they seem to be aiming at the defence ministry and other military sites but they are landing short and hitting residential areas. Either deliberately or accidentally there is a risk of mass casualties - in both Israel and Iran.

    But Iran does not want to draw in America directly - Iran's Supreme Leader knows that militarily and politically Iran cannot win. But as this war escalates, Iranian military officials are now warning of attacks against U.S. bases in the region.

    They had always believed their bulwark against the kind of war has been one American president after another saying to Netanyahu: "No, you cannot attack Iran's nuclear facilities, we will try to find a diplomatic way out of it - that is simply too dangerous an option".

    President Trump says he did not give a green light - but even if it was just amber, this war has been unleashed, with no clear sign as to how and when it will end.

  • Lebanon's airspace reopens after temporary closure

    Lebanon has reopened its airspace as of 10:00 local time (08:00 BST).

    The announcement, which came from the ministry of public works and transport, emphasises the decision to close the airspace had been made for necessary security reasons.

    A little earlier, we reported Jordan had also reopened its airspace.

    There has been no update from Israel's Ministry of Transport since yesterday, when it announced Israel's airspace would be closed "until further notice".

    Iranian state media outlet IRNA has also said that no flights will operate in the country "until further notice".

    Flight tracking website Flightradar24 currently shows no planes in the sky over a significant swathe of the Middle East.

    a map of the middle east shows empty skies over most of the region. small planes marked in yellow can be seen travelling around the area but not through itflightradar24

  • Three killed in Israel following Iran's retaliatory strikes

    Earlier this morning, we reported on two confirmed deaths in Israel. Israeli media and politicians now say that number is three.

    The leader of the opposition party in Israel has expressed condolences for the deaths of the three Israeli citizens.

    "It was a difficult night for the State of Israel," Yair Lapid writes, as he calls for people to follow instructions from the Home Front Command.

    "We are a strong people with a strong army."

  • IDF says it will strike more targets in Tehran

    The IDF has said the country's air force is ready to resume striking targets in Iran.

    A little earlier, IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir and Israeli Air Force chief Maj Gen Tomer Bar gave a t situational assessment. They say "the way to Iran has been paved".

    “According to the plans, air force fighter jets will begin to carry out strikes on targets in Tehran,” they add.

  • Israel says 'dozens' of targets in Tehran hit overnight

    An update a little earlier from the Israeli military says that the country's air force hit "dozens" of targets in Tehran overnight, including surface-to-air missile infrastructure.

    Maj Gen Tomer Bar says in a statement that the strikes had "operational and national significance".

    Strategic sites were damaged, he adds.

  • UK foreign secretary will speak to Middle East counterparts

    Jack Fenwick
    Political correspondent

    The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected to have calls with further counterparts in the Middle East today, after he held talks with representatives from Iran, Jordan and Saudi Arabia yesterday.

    Lammy also had a t meeting with the foreign ministers of , and Italy, as well as the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.

    He is currently being briefed by Whitehall officials on the overnight developments in the Middle East.

    No ministerial-level Cobra meeting is expected today, but officials from multiple government departments will be meeting to discuss the latest this morning.

    It’s understood that French officials informed the UK government last night that the UN summit on a two-state solution had been postponed.

  • What are the worst-case scenarios in the Iran-Israel conflict?

    James Landale
    Diplomatic correspondent

    a worker in orange high-vis stands amid rubble at the site of a strike in tel aviv.EPA

    For now the fighting between Israel and Iran seems restricted to the two nations. But what if calls to de-escalate fall on deaf ears? What if the fighting escalates and expands?

    Here are just a few possible, worst-case scenarios:

    America gets dragged in

    For all the US denials, Iran clearly believes American forces endorsed and at least tacitly ed Israel's attacks.

    Iran could strike US targets across the Middle East – such as special forces camps in Iraq, military bases in the Gulf, and diplomatic missions in the region. Iran's proxy forces - Hamas and Hezbollah - may be much diminished but its ive militias in Iraq remain armed and intact.

    Gulf nations gets dragged in

    If Iran failed to damage Israel's well-protected military and other targets, then it could always aim its missiles at softer targets in the Gulf, especially countries that Iran believes aided and abetted its enemies over the years.

    But these countries play host to US airbases. If the Gulf were attacked, then it too might demand American warplanes come to its defence as well as Israel's.

    Iran's regime falls, leaving a vacuum

    What if Israel succeeded in its long term aim of forcing the collapse of the Islamic revolutionary regime in Iran?

    He made clear in his statement yesterday that his broader aim involves regime change. Bringing down Iran's government might appeal to some in the region, especially some Israelis. But what vacuum might it leave?

    You can read more about other possible scenarios that could play out as this war progresses.

  • Iran's strikes will continue, state media reports

    We are seeing reports now via Iran's state-run Fars news agency that Iran's strikes "will continue" and will not conclude with Friday night's strikes. The agency cites an unnamed official.

    The official, who was referencing comments made by senior military commanders, says that Iran will also target US bases in the region in the coming days.

  • Analysis

    This could be the start of a prolonged military campaign

    Hugo Bachega
    Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

    Loud explosions were heard here in Jerusalem, as air defence systems were activated as Iran launched another wave of attacks before dawn.

    Yesterday, as Israeli officials described the operation against Iran as successful, they also indicated that the strikes were the beginning of what could be a prolonged campaign, warning the public that large Iranian attacks were expected.

    Israel says the goal is to damage Iran’s nuclear programme. Officials believe that Iran is in a weak position – its air defences had been degraded in air strikes last year and its proxies in the region, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been severely damaged – and have said that, in their view, there was a window of opportunity to act.

    But the scale of the attacks could suggest another objective: to topple the regime. Last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video message, making a direct appeal to the Iranian people and urging them to rise up against their leaders.

    "The objective of Israel's military operation is to remove both the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat to Israel,” he said. “And as we achieve our objectives, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your objective, which is freedom."

    This will probably be one of the main concerns of the Iranian leadership, as their main priority has always been to guarantee the regime survival. They are now under a lot of pressure, and it is unclear whether the attacks will lead to domestic instability, or an anti-regime movement.

  • A quick recap as Iran and Israel trade fire overnight

    a rescue worker wearing a black jumper and cargo tros and a red hard hat inspects damage. he is standing in the rubble of what appears to be an apartment block. concrete and rebar surround him.Reuters

    Iran has launched a wave of retaliatory strikes in response to Israel's attacks on its nuclear facilities and missile sites.

    Two people have died in the strikes, according to Israeli emergency services. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) says it continues to strike Iran.

    Here's what else to know:

  • IDF says UAVs intercepted around the West Bank and Dead Sea

    The IDF says a number of UAVs have been intercepted by the Israeli air force following sirens around the areas of the West Bank and the Dead Sea.

    The sirens had sounded shortly after 08:00 local time (06:00 BST).

    We're continuing to monitor activity from each side and will bring you the updates as we receive them.