Middle East crisis live: Israeli military issues new evacuation warning for Beirut; Trump reportedly approves sending more troops

Key Points:

• British forces shot down 14 kamikaze drones overnight attacking a joint UK-US base in Erbil, Iraq, using the Rapid Sentry air defence system, marking the largest single-night drone interception since the Middle East crisis began on 28 February.
• Lebanon faces an existential crisis as Israel moves to control southern Lebanon, with Israeli forces establishing a security zone south of the Litani River and destroying key bridges, prompting fears of long-term occupation and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians.
• Hezbollah declared that Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon would pose an existential threat to Lebanon, vowing to fight against such moves, while the UN and Human Rights Watch have warned that Israel’s forced displacement of civilians may constitute war crimes.
• Iran’s military has vowed to continue its response to the US-Israel war until achieving "complete victory," with the commander mocking the US and affirming loyalty to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei; meanwhile, an Iranian missile was intercepted over Lebanese airspace, causing minor injuries.
• Deutsche Bank warned that the Middle East conflict risks undermining the US dollar's role as the global reserve currency by challenging the petrodollar system, as shifts toward alternative payment methods and energy sources could diminish dollar dominance in global trade.