Middle East crisis live: three dead and others injured after Israeli airstrike on Beirut, says Lebanon

Attack on Lebanon’s capital comes despite shaky four-month ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

As we mentioned in the opening post, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backtracked on his decision to appoint vice admiral Eli Sharvit as the next head of the Shin Bet, some 24 hours after making the surprise announcement.

Netanyahu’s office said that following some “further thought” he had told Sharvit that he will now consider other candidates to replace the (former) head of Israel’s security service Ronen Bar, whose firing is due to take effect pending a court review.