Israel bombs Lebanon as top Hezbollah leader dead and war spreads

mirror.co.uk · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Israeli strikes have killed a senior figure in the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, reported Saudi media, as war spreads across the Middle East and a RAF base came under fire08:33, 02 Mar 2026Updated 08:35, 02 Mar 2026Israel has bombed Lebanon after Hezbollah joined the war in the Middle East - with reports emerging that a senior member of the militant group has been killed in the strikes.‌The IDF launched a barrage on Hezbollah targets overnight after the Tehran-backed group fired missiles towards northern Israel - while Iran continued to target Israel and Arab states following the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei.‌At least nine people have been killed after an Iranian missile strike hit the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, while Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 31 people were died in the retaliatory IDF strikes, with the majority of the casualties in the south of the country. Another 149 people were left injured.‌Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.Thousands of people have already taken to the roads to flee towns and cities in the south, while Mohammad Raad, the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary faction, was reportedly killed during the strikes on Hezbollah, Saudi news outlet Al-Hadath reported.‌The IDF said it had struck several senior Hezbollah terrorists in Beirut and a "central Hezbollah terrorist" in southern Lebanon, but did not confirm the names of targets.More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.‌A suspected drone strike hit RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. There were no casualties in the incident at the base near Limassol in the early hours of Monday.It comes as Number 10 prepares the largest-ever evacuation of British nationals stranded abroad in the Middle East - with more than 200,000 British nationals, including military personnel, are thought to be at risk in the Gulf.British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE have been urged to register their presence with the Foreign Office online.‌US warplanes will now be allowed to use RAF bases to strike Iranian missile sites, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an address on Sunday, adding that Britain has learnt "mistakes of Iraq" and was not involved in Trump's initial strikes on Iran over the weekend.Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said this morning that it was "not in the UK’s interests" to support the initial US attack on Iran, telling Times Radio: "Our assessment was that it was not in the UK’s interests to provide support for the action that took place over the weekend.Article continues below"But it is in UK interests and it is the right thing to do – given how many British citizens that we have in the region – to support this defensive action now."