Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday, the militant group said, as a U.S. envoy tasked with avoiding a devastating regional war returned to Israel after meeting officials in Lebanon. Lebanese state media reported multiple Israeli strikes along the border and in an area north of the coastal city of Tyre, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the frontier. The Israeli military said two Hezbollah launches damaged several vehicles in northern Israel.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday, according to the militant group, as a U.S. envoy returned to Israel after meeting officials in Lebanon.
- Lebanese state media reported multiple Israeli strikes along the border and near Tyre. The Israeli military said two Hezbollah launches damaged several vehicles in northern Israel.
- U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is back in Israel after meetings in Lebanon, with no update on his progress to prevent a wider war.
- International criticism of the U.S. support for Israel’s nine-month offensive in Gaza is growing, with the UN warning of a “plausible risk of genocide,” which Israel denies.
- Prime Minister Netanyahu accused the U.S. of withholding weapons needed for the Gaza war, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said only certain bombs are under review.
- The war in Gaza has killed over 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and has led to severe shortages of food, medicine, and supplies.
- The conflict began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and abducting about 250.
- Hezbollah started attacking Israel shortly after the Israel-Hamas war began, with recent escalations raising fears of a full-blown war.
- Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed over 400 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters, with at least 80 civilians among the dead.
- Syrian state media reported an Israeli drone strike killing a Syrian army officer in southern Syria, amid intensified strikes linked to the Gaza war.
The Associated Press has the story:
Hezbollah says Israeli strikes kill 3 fighters as US envoy tries to calm tensions
Newslooks- BEIRUT- (AP)
Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday, the militant group said, as a U.S. envoy tasked with avoiding a devastating regional war returned to Israel after meeting officials in Lebanon.
Lebanese state media reported multiple Israeli strikes along the border and in an area north of the coastal city of Tyre, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the frontier. The Israeli military said two Hezbollah launches damaged several vehicles in northern Israel.
Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, was back in Israel after meetings in Lebanon on Tuesday. There has been no word on whether he has made progress in his efforts to avoid a wider war.
With the Israeli offensive in Gaza now in its ninth month, international criticism has grown steadily over the U.S. support for Israel’s air and ground attacks. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying militants operate among the population.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Tuesday that the United States was withholding weapons needed for the war in Gaza. Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about killing civilians in Gaza. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that those 2,000-pound bombs are the only weapons under review. He told reporters that “Everything else is moving as it normally would.”
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians who are facing widespread hunger.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Hezbollah says at least 3 fighters were killed in Israeli strikes
BEIRUT — The Hezbollah militant group says at least three of its fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday as a U.S. envoy works to quell tensions.
Lebanese state media reported multiple Israeli strikes along the border and in an area north of the coastal city of Tyre, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the frontier. The Israeli military said two Hezbollah launches damaged several vehicles in northern Israel.
The fighting came as Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, returned to Israel after meeting with officials in Lebanon on Tuesday. There has been no word on whether he has made progress in his efforts to avoid a devastating regional war.
Kamel Mohanna, the head of the Amel Association, an NGO providing health services in Lebanon, said the group’s primary health center in the town of Khiam was hit and damaged by Israeli shelling. Mohanna said he was visiting another health center in south Lebanon, which had been previously struck and then repaired, when the Khiam center was hit.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7. There have been near daily exchanges of fire, though most of the strikes are confined to an area within a few mostly confined to the area around the border.
But the fighting has escalated in recent weeks, raising fears that the clashes could boil over into a full-blown war. Israel’s army announced late Tuesday that it has “approved and validated” plans for an offensive in Lebanon.
Israeli strikes already have killed more than 400 people in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but at least 80 of the fatalities were civilians. In northern Israel, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.
Israeli drone strikes kill a Syrian army officer, state media says
DAMASCUS, Syria — A Syrian army officer was killed in an Israeli airstrike Wednesday morning, Syrian state media said.
State news agency SANA reported that Israeli drone strikes hit military sites in the areas of Quneitra and Daraa in southern Syria, killing an officer and resulting in “material damages.”
The Untied Kingdom-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes came after members of factions affiliated with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah transported the wreckage of an Israeli reconnaissance plane to one of the targeted sites to dismantle it.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the strikes. Israel frequently launches strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria but rarely acknowledges them. The strikes have intensified since October against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
