Beirut

Hospitalsin Beirut and across Lebanon are struggling to cope with hundreds of casualties after the Israeli military launched more than 100 air strikes within a 10-minute window. According to civil defence, at least 254 people have been killed and more than 1,100 injured, with the death count expected to rise as many remain in a critical condition. Rescuers are still working to reach those reported missing or trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Iran issued a stern warning against any violation of the ongoing ceasefire arrangement between the Islamic Republic and US-Israeli coalition forces aimed at halting the hostilities in West Asia for two weeks, stating that any breach would trigger a swift and strong response, as reported by Iranian state media ISNA.

China's Defence Ministry on Thursday denied reports that Chinese firms provided satellite imagery and semiconductor chip manufacturing equipment to the Iranian military in the midst of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Iran firmly ruled out any negotiations over its nuclear enrichment programme, reiterating that its right to enrichment is non-negotiable, even as it links the issue to ongoing efforts to bring a complete end to hostilities in West Asia with the US and Israel, as reported by Iran's state news agency ISNA.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed that Israel will persist in its military operations against Hezbollah

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said "Anybody who communicates with the Iranian authority has got permission to pass Strait of Hormuz."

Iranian news agencies released a chart indicating that the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard may have deployed sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the war. The move appears intended to pressure the United States, as uncertainty continues around a fragile, days-old two-week ceasefire and further negotiations are anticipated in Pakistan.

The charts, published by the ISNA news agency and Tasnim--widely seen as close to the Revolutionary Guard--depicted a large "danger zone" marked in Farsi over the Traffic Separation Scheme, the main shipping route through the strait. This narrow passage at the mouth of the Persian Gulf has historically carried about 20% of the world's traded oil and natural gas. Al Jazeera's Mubasher correspondent Mohammed Wishah was killed in a drone strike west of Gaza City on Wednesday.