we are getting more details coming in from the reuters news agency who are quoting a security official saying that the israeli ground operation will be limited. a wider operation targeting beirut is, to quote this statement, not on the table. the reuters news agency also say the same security official has said that no clashes with hezbollah forces have yet been reported in the ground operation. those two lines coming in to us about half an hour ago as well we were telling you about reports that air raid sirens had been heard in tel aviv, the most populated city in israel, and an explosion had also been heard there as well. and all of this as we are also hearing that the lebanese caretaker

prime minister, najib mikati, as well as the un security coordinator for lebanon, as well as the un security coordinatorfor lebanon, have coordinator for lebanon, have launched coordinatorfor lebanon, have launched a $426 million appeal to help civilians affected by the escalating conflict. another development, now we are hearing that air raid sirens have been sounding across central israel as well. we can go through some of the main developments in this report from chi chi izundu. explosion. a dangerous and pivotal moment in the middle east. escalation amid fresh missile strikes overnight. a ground offensive launched by israel into lebanon. in southern beirut, less than 30 minutes after israel told residents to leave three neighbourhoods, a huge blast was heard. explosion. then the confirmation came. israel began its ground operation in southern lebanon. military chiefs said limited, localised and targeted raids against hezbollah are being carried out — something the idf says is based

on precise intelligence. the israeli government has said it wants to enable thousands of displaced israelis in the north of the country to return to their homes. but, iran—backed hezbollah says it's ready and prepared, warning that the battle may be long. explosion. after the intense israeli air strikes of the past week, it's unclear how much firepower hezbollah still has. but, with the fear of wider retaliation from its other allies, including iran, the calls for de—escalation grow louder. we ultimately want to see a diplomatic resolution to conflict in the middle east that provides long—term security for the people of israel, the people of lebanon and the palestinian people, as well as the broader region. and we will continue to work to advance efforts along those fronts. in the uk, for the next few days, the focus will be on getting british nationals in lebanon safely out of the country —

with the government chartering a flight tomorrow to help them and their families leave. i urge them to leave because the situation on the ground is fast moving. and, of course, whilst we will do everything we can to protect british nationals and those plans are in place to do so, we cannot anticipate the circumstances and the speed with which we could do that if things escalate in a major way over the coming hours and days. in lebanon, people are counting the human cost of this conflict. he says he pulled the bodies of his loved ones from the rubble yesterday during the call to prayer. he says, "may god destroy you, israel, by god's will." israel has landed a series of heavy blows on hezbollah in recent weeks. what's unclear is how intense this conflict may now become and for how long it may last. chi chi izundu, bbc news.

let's speak to dr najat aoun saliba, who is an independent lebanese member of parliament. she is south of beirut. i would love to know how you are doing and what you are seeing and hearing this morning. seeing and hearing this morning-— seeing and hearing this morninu. ., ., morning. good afternoon to everyone- _ morning. good afternoon to everyone- we _ morning. good afternoon to everyone. we are _ morning. good afternoon to everyone. we are seeing i morning. good afternoon to| everyone. we are seeing and witnessing an invasion, and it's not an incursion. it's an invasion from a country to another country. israel is invading lebanon, their boots are on the ground. their air strikes are nonstop and a lot of people have been forced to leave their homes fearing for their lives. this is not acceptable. we call on the international community to stop this, and not to believe that this, and not to believe that this is a limited and targeted

incursion. this has been the same rhetoric used from the part of his rail when they entered gaza. a year later we don't see any way out. we still see violence in gaza, we still see violence in gaza, we still see death and we still see destruction. this violence is not going to lead to peace. we call on the diplomatic efforts of all the international community to stop the violence and go back to the discussion table and honour the security resolution 1701. let table and honour the security resolution 1701.— resolution 1701. let me put this to you. _ resolution 1701. let me put this to you, israel- resolution 1701. let me put this to you, israel says - resolution 1701. let me put this to you, israel says thisi this to you, israel says this will be targeted and they have said this is something they had no choice but to do because they say that hezbollah is the world's largest non—state army and that southern lebanon is swarming, to quote, with terrorists and weapons. i think

the tit-for-tat _ terrorists and weapons. i think the tit-for-tat bombing - terrorists and weapons. i think the tit-for-tat bombing from l the tit—for—tat bombing from both sides has been going on for one year. so as much as we care for all people on the globe we also care for the lebanese southern people who have been fleeing their homes, who have been killed, and are also displaced within their own country. we don't want to forget that we have 2 million refugees from the syrian border who came in and we did not get any back—up from the international community to send them back home. lebanon cannot continue like this. we are on the verge of a huge humanitarian crisis. we have a lot of people who have chosen the side streets and gardens of beirut as a refuge because they couldn't find a place to live. this is not human, this should not continue, and i think diplomatic efforts, discussions

and negotiations should lead to and negotiations should lead to a truce where everybody can become and live safe.- become and live safe. let's talk about _ become and live safe. let's talk about the _ become and live safe. let's| talk about the humanitarian crisis that could be looming. we have heard from the prime minister of lebanon and the un in lebanon as well calling for hundreds of millions of dollars in an appeal. what are you hearing and seeing on the ground? hearing and seeing on the round? ~ ., ., ' ., ground? we have over1 million --eole ground? we have over1 million peeple who _ ground? we have over1 million people who have _ ground? we have over1 million people who have been - ground? we have over1 million i people who have been displaced, who have been forced to leave their homes. they left their homes in every because of bombs, they were forced to leave their homes. these schools are full, some hotels are also full. people are also living on the streets, they are living on the streets, they are living in some gardens that are available. we are in great need to support our fellow citizens, our families and to support our fellow citizens, ourfamilies and our to support our fellow citizens, our families and our loved ones, and we stand together to

defend our country. this is an invasion from a foreign country. we will not let it happen, we will all stand together to defend our country. you talk about the huge concern about the security of your you talk about the huge concern about the security of your country. i want to just put country. i want to just put this to you because some people this to you because some people watching might ask this. israel watching might ask this. israel has said that if the state of has said that if the state of lebanon and the world can't lebanon and the world can't push hezbollah away from our push hezbollah away from our border then we have no choice border then we have no choice but to do it ourselves. has but to do it ourselves. has lebanon and the world have done lebanon and the world have done enough to counter the threat of enough to counter the threat of hezbollah without this hezbollah without this happening?— happening?— hezbollah without this ha enin-? ~ . ., hezbollah without this haueninu? ~ . ., ., happening? we admit that our hezbollah without this ha enin-? ~ . ., hezbollah without this haueninu? ~ . ., ., happening? we admit that our government — government — happening? we admit that our government did _ happening? we admit that our government did not _ happening? we admit that our government did not do - happening? we admit that our government did _ happening? we admit that our government did not _ happening? we admit that our government did not do - happening? we admit that our. government did not do enough, absolutely. but right now we happening? we admit that our. government did not do enough, absolutely. but right now we cannot accept a foreign country cannot accept a foreign country invading our country. we will invading our country. we will stand together to defend our stand together to defend our country. yes, we have made country. yes, we have made mistakes, absolutely, and there mistakes, absolutely, and there are a lot of people at fault. are a lot of people at fault. it's not the time to do this, it's not the time to do this, it's not the time to go back. it's not the time to go back.

it's the time to stop the concern it's the time to stop the killing, stop the massacres and stop the invasion. and we will stand together to defend our

count as 7 stand together to defend our count as your correspondent which as your correspondent said is predominately bunkers, strong points, firing positions and command positions. hezbollah has fired several thousand rockets over the border into israel over the last year and they have used anti—tank missiles to fire over the border as well. the intention is that this is to basically rip up that physical infrastructure and create a buffer zone. the question is, it doesn't deal with rockets fired from deeper into southern lebanon but still south of the river let arnie. they will still have to conduct an air strike campaign against longer range rockets and stores that lebanon has further north. israel says it is a targeted operation but we have already reported a palestinian refugee camp has been hit in the strikes rather than the ground offensive. it shows that it is not a straightforward. ha. not a straightforward. no. israel might _ not a straightforward. no. israel might rightly - not a straightforward. firm israel might rightly point not a straightforward. iiru israel might rightly point out that civilian casualties are

inevitable given where hezbollah puts a lot of its forces and personnel. and they will try to minimise those casualties. those are taken into account in international humanitarian law. on the question of how limited this will be, there is obviously a wariness in the idf about getting sucked into another 2006 style situation. this is a fight on the ground that hezbollah has prepared for. at the same time there are probably those who would argue that if not now to deal a really heavy blow to hezbollah, then when, because they are at their weakest for decades. there is probably an attraction to try to take advantage of that weakness. that argument will be playing out, a lot depending on what the hezbollah response is. depending on what the hezbollah resoonse is-_ response is. hearing some lines that are coming _ response is. hearing some lines that are coming into _ response is. hearing some lines that are coming into us - response is. hearing some lines that are coming into us from - that are coming into us from various news agencies, including reuters, quoting an israeli security official saying that the israeli ground operation is limited, a wider operation is limited, a wider operation targeting beirut is

not on the table. also the same official declined to say how deep into lebanese territory troops are operating but said it is still walking distance from the border. when you hear those thoughts from a security official quoted by reuters, what you see as the scope and scale of this? i what you see as the scope and scale of this?— scale of this? i think that does tend _ scale of this? i think that does tend toward - scale of this? i think that . does tend toward something scale of this? i think that - does tend toward something that is much more focused on the physical infrastructure just north of the border, effectively removing the positions from which hezbollah can ambush the israelis, launch some of their raids, tunnels and firing points for anti—tank weapons. but as i say, over the past year we have seen consistent miscalculation, particularly from iran and its proxies about the risk the israelis are prepared to take. at the same time, as the israelis press forward, there will be a temptation to just go that bit further because you could see this as a sort of

generational opportunity to deal a blow to hezbollah. again, 2006 has a lot of memories for them about being caught in very difficult ground fighting. and so i still think the air strike fighting. and so i still think the airstrike campaign fighting. and so i still think the air strike campaign will continue. to the air strike campaign will continue-— continue. to remind our audience. _ continue. to remind our audience, the _ continue. to remind our audience, the 2000 - continue. to remind ourj audience, the 2000 and continue. to remind our - audience, the 2000 and flicked conflict. it audience, the 2000 and flicked conflict. ., , ., audience, the 2000 and flicked conflict. ., . ., ,, . conflict. it was a classic example. _ conflict. it was a classic example, hezbollah - conflict. it was a classic - example, hezbollah kidnapped some israeli soldiers and israel went into southern lebanon to get them back. there was a large air strike campaign which didn't then dislodge hezbollah or remove their rocket arsenal and it ended up with a ground invasion. and then effectively it was all brought to a halt by a kind of deal in un security council resolution 1701 which was supposed to effectively remove hezbollah from south of the litani river, giving a 30 kilometre buffer zone next to israel. ., , _, israel. to put it in context for our —

israel. to put it in context for our audience, - israel. to put it in context i for our audience, hezbollah, israel. to put it in context - for our audience, hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the uk, the us and other countries, is funded and other countries, is funded and backed by iran, so where does iran sit in this escalation?- does iran sit in this escalation? ~ . , does iran sit in this escalation? . , ., escalation? what this has done is because _ escalation? what this has done is because an _ escalation? what this has done is because an enormous - escalation? what this has done i is because an enormous problem for iran. one of its proxies or partners, hamas, triggered this crisis without the knowledge of iran. hezbollah has, if you like, tried to needle israel for the past year but without crossing what it thought was the threshold of inviting significant retaliation. the israelis have called that bluff and the issue now is they both exist fundamentally as a close deterrent to israel attacking iran. the reverse isn't true. iran. the reverse isn't true. iran doesn't sit behind hezbollah or hamas to protect them from israeli activity and so those relationships will be under stress. so those relationships will be understress. iran so those relationships will be under stress. iran is conventionally at a significant disadvantage against israel. it faces either having its deterrent further eroded or risking escalation that it

can't manage or match israeli fire power. can't manage or match israeli fire power-— fire power. thank you for the moment _ fire power. thank you for the moment and _ fire power. thank you for the moment and stay _ fire power. thank you for the moment and stay with - fire power. thank you for the moment and stay with us, i moment and stay with us, director of the military sciences at the royal united services institute. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

another breaking story coming to us from thailand. more than 20 children and teachers are feared dead after a school bus crashed then caught fire in the thai capital of bangkok. the thai government has said around 16 passengers who were on board have been hospitalised. an emergency worker on scene said one of the vehicle's tyres burst, causing it to crash into a barrier and ignite. the pupils were on a school trip from the northern province of uthai thani.

we can take you to some live pictures from the scene. that's in bangkok where a bus carrying dozens of schoolchildren crashed and caught fire just out side the centre of the capital. 16 people are reported to have escaped but 22 people remain unaccounted for, including teachers and schoolchildren. that's according to the transport ministry. they have found bodies on the bus will stop those pictures coming to us from the bbc thailand service. you can see the scene of that highland bus crash which was carrying pupils and a teacher. —— of that highland cement crash. —— that thailand bus

crash. israel has called local raids that are limited and in the scope of operation. at the moment they say no clashes. that's from a senior security official speaking to the bbc. with me in the studio is matthew savill, director of military sciences at royal united services institute. we are hearing from israel saying this is very limited in scope and scale but there are still air strikes continuing. it doesn't mean this is necessarily a smaller operation overall, does it?— overall, does it? no. a lot of this depends _ overall, does it? no. a lot of this depends on _ overall, does it? no. a lot of this depends on the - overall, does it? no. a lot of. this depends on the hezbollah reaction. the fact that thus far we have seen only limited strikes back into israel, it's not clear if they have engaged anybody on the ground yet. it could be as a result of one of

two things. first, they are basically still in disarray and they can't organise themselves. and that is part of that temptation for the idf to go further. the other might be that they are seeking to cut their losses. that in essence, if this is to be limited in the first instance, it's not worth escalating further, even for the opportunity of inflicting casualties on the israeli ground forces, if you think the israelis will only be there for a short while, destroy fixed positions and then withdraw because hezbollah needs time to regroup and rebuild. the downside for them there is that they will have seen, as having brought the israelis into lebanon and then failed to defend lebanon. hezbollah already has plenty of enemies inside the country. they are popular in some areas but widely unpopular in other areas because of their racketeering and grip on the country. this is an enormous blow either way

to their reputation as a competent security force. matthew settle from the royal united services institute, thank you for the moment. and you can see on the screen behind me, live pictures of beirut and an israeli security official saying that at the moment there have been no clashes despite the fact is really troops are in lebanon. you're watching bbc news. some other news we been staying across today. gas and electricity prices in england, scotland and wales are rising by 10% from tuesday, as the debate continues over the withdrawal of financial support such as the winter fuel payment. it means the average household bill will increase by £149. people are being encouraged to submit a meter reading as soon as they can to ensure their bill is as accurate as possible. our cost of living correspondent colletta smith has been finding out how the changes will affect people. now the weather's turning, the focus for many is finding ways to keep warm and dry.

an energy price hike is the last thing anyone needs. i thought they were bringing it down, so it is — it's a big disappointment, you feel it inside. you'd be bigger and you'd be prouder and you'd say, "oh, i can manage, i can make that little bit of extra money," but all added to everything else that we're getting put through, it'sjust that bit too much. the bills that's causing is astronomical at the moment — 126 quid deficit and my, uh, gas, which i'm...not proud about. but what can we do? nice to see you again. peter and pat are losing their £300 pensioners' winter fuel payment, too. both in their 80s, managing the money will be tougher this year. it meant that i could sort of think about the christmas period for the grandchildren a little bit easier. i'm not complaining of our status, but there are people that are on the borderline. they're going to struggle, definitely. while the changes for pensioners have grabbed the headlines this summer, many others are already

in the eye of the storm. the latest statistics show the total energy debt has hit a new record high. so that means, as these new price rises kick in, we're in a position where more households are struggling to keep up with their payments, and others are falling into even deeper debt. it is still a stigma for people to ask for help. they're embarrassed. dilwara and her team help people get on top of their energy payments. how many referrals have we had this morning? 0h, we've had loads. their bill—busters scheme has never been more in demand. it is paramount at the moment. it is one of the key elements of the work that we're doing as a charity. there is always a way out, you know — it's being able to reassure residents that there is help out there, you can't suffer on your own. with a 10% hike in gas and electricity from today, everyone is facing bigger bills as the temperatures drop.

colletta smith, bbc news, in blackburn. a? round—the—world ? cruise? liner has finally left belfast harbour, four? months?after? it?was due to depart. passengers were stranded in northern ireland while repairs were carried out on the villa vie odyssey. our?ireland?correspondent?chris page?saw the ship set off. horn blasts. this round—the—world cruise has had only one stop in four months — belfast. following 122 days of delay, the ship was still in a repair yard, long after the scheduled boarding time yesterday. the chief executive of the company admitted to feeling a bit stressed and didn't sound hopeful. ship's coming — today, tomorrow, some time soon, hopefully. hopefully. hopefully, yes. hopefully. but a little later, the ocean beckoned.

she's on her way, guys. cheering. finally, passengers could begin their global adventure. we're ecstatic. absolutely amazing. so. . .i can breathe. not all the seafarers are human. holly and her cat, captain, have taken on something of a celebrity status during their unexpected stay here. belfast has been very good to me, and we will probably be back on our next circumnavigation. so, ready to sail into perpetual summers, we're told the ship is now going. that's right. it's going to be a couple of weeks till we get to summer. but, yeah, i definitely want to sail into warm weather. and, you know, iwant to live on that ship. personally, i don't care if we don't go anywhere for a while if we have to, so long as we can be on the ship. well, many passengers have said they've come to love this place and its people. but there are some aspects of life here that perhaps they won't miss as much.

if the ship had stuck to its original itinerary, well, apparently it would be in the bahamas now, rather than belfast. you can imagine that plenty of the people here now safely on board will be glad to be heading for the high seas. cheering. the travellers have shown a lot of humour amidst the hassle. 17 weeks on, northern ireland has said bon voyage. chris page, bbc news, belfast. before we leave you this hour, this is the seen live over beirut with smoke hanging in the air. it comes as israeli troops have crossed into lebanon in what the israeli military has described as a limited, localised and targeted operation against hezbollah. in the last few moments a security official for israel has told

the bbc that at the moment there are no clashes, there has been no direct confrontation between hezbollah and the idf. we will stay across that story throughout the morning here on bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. we've had some heavy rain moving across parts of england and also wales this morning, and the whole lot is slowly pushing towards the south—east. it's being dragged along by this area of low pressure which will still be with us even through tonight and tomorrow in the far south—east, but it's going to weaken as we go through the next couple of days, the rain turning more showery. but you can see here, where we've got the greens in the chart, that is indicating some heavy bursts. this rain already falling on some saturated ground which could lead to further issues. a keen wind coming in from the north sea will accentuate the cool feel. but for scotland, northern ireland, parts of wales and the south—west, we will see some drier conditions. and in the north—west, certainly some sunshine. as we head through the evening

and overnight, still a lot of cloud across much of england and wales. our weather front wrapped around an area of low pressure still producing some showers and still breezy. but we've got clearer skies as we push further north, for northern england, northern ireland and scotland, and in some sheltered glens temperatures could fall away to freezing, so locally we could wake up to a touch of frost tomorrow. high pressure is starting to really exert its influence across us during wednesday, but you can just make out the dregs of today's weather front, still producing some showers, but the spacing in the isobars tells you it's not going to be as windy. it will be breezy, though. so, we start off with a lot of cloud for england and for wales. that will break up, sunshine developing. showers continuing on and off in the south—east, and when we lose the mist and fog further north, there will be a fair bit of sunshine around with temperatures 13—17 degrees. then as we head on from wednesday into thursday, well, high pressure really does assert itself across the whole of the uk, so we are looking at a drier day, there will be more

sunshine around, its going to be less breezy. there will be some fairweather cloud bubbling up as we go through the course of the day, but not really spoiling it. and temperatures, 12 to about 17 degrees north to south. then beyond that, for friday and into the weekend, well, friday itself, there will be mist and fog to start the day. scotland and northern ireland, a weather front will come in bringing you cloud and some patchy rain. there will be a lot of dry weather this weekend, but equally expect some rain at times.

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. the major developing story from the middle east is that israel's military says its troops have crossed the border into southern lebanon overnight. a senior israeli security official described the operation as "limited local raids", targeting hezbollah strongholds that threaten israeli border areas. hezbollah said it's responded with artillery fire back across the border. this map shows the border —

with southern lebanon marked in red. lebanon's prime minister said his country was facing �*one of the most dangerous phases in its history'. the israel defense forces released this video, which it said showed its troops preparing to enter lebanon. israeli strikes have been continuing elsewhere in beirut — including these near the city's main airport. and these are pictures that have just come in from tel aviv, in central israel, where air raid sirens have been sounding. this is the scene live now in beirut. you can see smoke filled skies there is stacks have been continuing. there've also been reports of an air strike hitting a crowded palestinian refugee camp near the southern lebanese city of sidon.

syrian state media says that three people have been