The health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that at least 42,924 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October last year.

This number includes 77 deaths in the previous 48 hours, AFP has reported. According to the ministry, 100,833 people have been wounded since the Israel-Gaza war began just over a year ago.

France has called on Israel to “refrain” from any action which could further escalate already heightened tension in the Middle East.

Multiple explosions were heard in Tehran, the capital, and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2am local time (2230 GMT on Friday).

At least seven explosions were reported over Tehran and nearby Karaj, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad. Official news agency IRNA reported that two soldiers were killed.

The Israeli airstrikes were carried out in retaliation to a missile barrage launched by Iran on 1 October.

In a statement issued by the Quai d’Orsay on Saturday, the French foreign ministry urged Israel to “refrain from any escalation or action likely to aggravate the context of extreme tension” in the region.

Iran is “entitled and obligated to defend itself against external aggressive acts”, its foreign ministry has said.

Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in Tehran, the capital, and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2am local time (2230 GMT on Friday).

At least seven explosions were reported over Tehran and nearby Karaj, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad. Official news agency IRNA reported that two soldiers were killed.

Calling the Israeli attack a violation of international law, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Tehran “recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security”.

Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan have all condemned the attacks, while the UK and US have warned against further escalation.

A barrage of rockets were fired by Hezbollah on Saturday at Israeli forces near a village in southern Lebanon.

AFP has reported that the rockets were fired on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, where the Israeli army has carried out ground incursions for weeks.

The Iran-backed group said in a statement that its fighters had launched a “salvo of rockets” at Israeli soldiers.

Hezbollah has also said on Saturday that it had launched drones against an Israeli air base south of Tel Aviv.

The “aerial attack with drones” against Tel Nof base was the first claim of its kind in one year.

Two soldiers were killed in Saturday morning’s Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the official news agency IRNA has reported.

Reuters carried a statement from the Iranian army which confirmed the fatalities.

The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in defending Iran’s security and protecting the people and Iran’s interests, sacrificed two of its fighters while countering projectiles from the criminal Zionist regime.

Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in Tehran, the capital, and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2am local time (2230 GMT on Friday).

At least seven explosions were reported over Tehran and nearby Karaj, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad. The attacks were launched in retaliation to the missile barrage launched by Iran on 1 October that saw an estimated 180 ballistic missiles fired towards Tel Aviv and military bases.

Regimes from across the world have responded to the attack. UK prime minister Keir Starmer urged Iran not to respond and said the Middle East needs to “avoid further regional escalation”.

A senior US official said Israel’s “targeted and proportional strikes” should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries.

Bethan McKernan

A year into Israel-Hamas war, civilians clinging on in northern Gaza say the situation is worse than it has ever been.

Palestinians say “the generals’ plan” to clear north Gaza is under way. This plan is designed to force the remaining population to flee by tightening the siege and cutting off aid.

Experts say such tactics amount to war crimes.

Israel strikes Iran as Middle East edges closer to regional war

Bethan McKernan

Israel has launched direct airstrikes against Iran in a high-stakes retaliatory attack that brings the Middle East closer to a regional war that could draw in the US.

Iranian air defences said Israel attacked military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam, with the air attack completed on Saturday morning.

At least seven explosions were reported over the capital, Tehran, and nearby Karaj as well as the eastern city of Mashhad just after 2.30am local time on Saturday.

You can read our full report here:

If you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of today’s developments as Israel launched an air attack on military sites in Iran. It’s approaching 10.30am in Tehran and 10am in Tel Aviv.

• Israel struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday, saying it was retaliating against Tehran’s strikes on Israel early this month. Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in Tehran, the capital, and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2am local time (2230 GMT on Friday).

• At least seven explosions were reported over Tehran and nearby Karaj as well as the eastern city of Mashhad just after 2.30am as Israeli jets struck military targets in the country.

• The Israeli military said it had completed its “targeted” air attacks on Saturday morning, hitting missile manufacturing sites and aerial defences in several areas inside Iran, and that its planes had safely returned home. Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed. The Israeli military said after its airstrikes: “If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond.”

• Iran said its air defence system successfully countered Israel’s attacks on military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam with “limited damage” to some locations. A semi-official Iranian news agency vowed a “proportional reaction” to Israeli moves against Tehran.

• In the US, a senior Biden official said Israel’s “targeted and proportional strikes” should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries, but that the US was fully prepared to once again defend Israel if Iran should choose to respond. A US official said earlier that Israel notified Washington before carrying out the strikes, which it said were “an exercise of self-defence”, and that the US had no involvement in the Israeli military operation.

• Iran briefly suspended all flights after the Israeli strikes. Its civil aviation authority later resumed flights from 9am (0530 GMT) on Saturday.

• Iranian media initially appeared to downplay the airstrikes, noting that Tehran’s airport was operating normally. State TV reported several strong explosions heard around the capital, while the state news agency, IRNA, said there had been no casualties. There was no immediate official comment about the source of explosions, which Iranian news outlets reported were under investigation. Air defence systems were activated around the country.

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took the rare step of acknowledging the attack on Iran, in a confirmation in a statement that a decades-old shadow war between the enemy states had now firmly moved into the open. The IDF posted on X: “In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the state of Israel – right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran.” Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster, said dozens of fighter jets were involved in the operation.

• The attacks were widely expected as a retaliation to a missile barrage launched by Iran on 1 October that saw an estimated 180 ballistic missiles fired towards Tel Aviv and military bases in an unprecedented direct altercation between the two regional enemy states.