Matthew Doran

The ABC's Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran is in Beirut and is providing daily updates on the Middle East war. 

Israel has confirmed its ground invasion in southern Lebanon is expanding a day after the country's Defence Minister issued a grim warning about how long its campaign against Iranian-backed Hezbollah would continue. 

As Israel's intense bombardment continues into a third week, Lebanon's war-weary population and cash-strapped government are wondering when the fighting will stop.

The ABC's Middle East correspondent, Matt Doran, is in Beirut and is providing daily updates on the Middle East war. 

Israel reportedly preparing a ground invasion in southern Lebanon targeting what it claims as a threat from Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel's military drops the prosecution of five reservists accused of the violent rape of a Palestinian man at the Sde Teiman prison, under the cover of the war with Iran. 

The death toll in Lebanon is creeping towards 600 after a week of Israeli strikes against claimed Hezbollah targets.

Israel's bombardment of Lebanon on its northern front shows little sign of easing, with suggestions that the recently reignited conflict could drag on far longer than any war that Israel is waging with the United States against Iran.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations says his country will continue to target anyone promoting radical ideas against Israel in a threat to Iran's new Supreme Leader - Mojtaba Khamanei.

Iran is close to naming a new supreme leader after another day of intense Israeli and US bombing of the country which has blanketed the capital Tehran with thick black smoke. 

Iran has launched a fresh wave of strikes across the gulf states in the last few hours, triggering emergency warnings in some of the region's biggest cities.

Israel is demanding every Lebanese resident in the country's south leave their home and move north as it expands its strikes against claimed Hezbollah sites across the region.

The first funerals for Israelis killed in Iranian retaliatory strikes have been held overnight after a missile hit a synagogue in a town outside of Jerusalem. 

Israel's attacks on Iran have fuelled wave after wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel with warning sirens ringing out across the country. 

US-Israeli strikes on Iran have prompted a string of retaliatory attacks and travel chaos across the region. 

Israel's Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked the government from shuttering the Gaza operations of dozens of aid organisations.

The children of women with ISIS links stuck in a Syrian refugee camp talk about their attempt to leave last week, saying they dream of one day buying toys and ice cream in Australia.

The Australian government is urging Australians to consider leaving Israel and Lebanon, as the prospect of US strikes on Iran puts the region on high alert.

A Kurdish official says the Australian government's criticism of the group that attempted to return to Australia will frustrate the process of them trying to return again.

Kurdish authorities have told the ABC that a group of Australian women and children - linked to killed and captured Islamic State fighters - might not be able to make another attempt to travel home from north-eastern Syria because of public comments the Australian government has made about not wanting them back in Australia.

Mike Huckabee suggests Israel could claim a biblical right to territory far beyond its borders in the Middle East.

After holding a large swathe of autonomous territory that included two detention camps, Kurdish-led forces are now reluctantly handing over control to Syrian government forces, following their successful military offensive.

The ABC can reveal the names of the 11 women connected to former Islamic State fighters in Syria who attempted to journey home to Australia this week.

Thirty-four Australian women and children - linked to former Islamic State fighters - appear to be stuck in north-eastern Syria after their attempt to come home on Monday. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists the federal government will not repatriate the Australian families with links to Islamic State fighters who remain in Syria.