Hamas said it had no information about who fired the missiles from Lebanon on Thursday.

The attack was the biggest single barrage from Israel's northern neighbour in 17 years, with Israel reporting that most of the 34 rockets were intercepted - but that six caused damage to buildings.

Israeli warplanes also stepped up air strikes in Gaza, with around 20 missiles striking four new sites in 10 minutes. Palestinian militants also fired a new round of rockets at southern Israel, where warning sirens were heard sounding.

The Israeli jets attacked an underground weapons production site and three above-ground sites, the IDF spokesperson's unit was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post.

The Israeli airstrikes are said to be the heaviest since a round of fighting with Islamic Jihad in August 2022.

The Israeli response came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an urgent security cabinet meeting.

In a televised address, he said: "We will hit our enemies and they will pay a price for all acts of aggression." He also called for a calming of tensions, adding "we will act decisively against extremists who use violence".

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned any military operations from the country's territory that "destabilise the situation".

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, said the situation was "extremely serious" and urged "restraint and to avoid further escalation".

BBC