Eight Israeli Soldiers Killed as Conflict Expands in Middle East \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Israel continued its military operations on two fronts, advancing into Lebanon against Hezbollah and conducting deadly strikes in Gaza. The escalation follows Iran’s missile attack on Israel, further heightening tensions. The ongoing violence has killed many, including children, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.
Israel Escalates Military Actions in Lebanon and Gaza: Quick Looks
- Ground Incursion in Lebanon: Israel conducted a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah, leading to the deaths of eight Israeli soldiers. The conflict continues to escalate amid retaliatory strikes.
- Dozens Killed in Gaza Strikes: Israeli forces launched airstrikes in Gaza, focusing on Khan Younis, killing at least 51 people, including women and children.
- Iran’s Missile Retaliation: Iran fired dozens of missiles into Israel in response to Israeli strikes, prompting Israel to vow further retaliation.
- Casualties Across Lebanon and Syria: Israeli airstrikes hit residential buildings in Beirut and Damascus, leading to civilian casualties. Reports of phosphorus use have emerged, deepening concerns over warfare tactics.
- Diplomatic Rift with the U.N.: Israel declared U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, accusing him of failing to condemn Iran’s missile strike, furthering tensions.
Deep Look
On Wednesday, Israel pressed forward with military operations on two critical fronts, intensifying its conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon and conducting multiple airstrikes in Gaza. The latest escalation left eight Israeli soldiers dead in Lebanon, while airstrikes in Gaza killed dozens of Palestinians, including women and children. The aggressive actions were part of Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Tuesday night, signaling an escalating spiral of retaliation that risks igniting a wider regional conflict.
The Iranian missile attack, which followed recent Israeli operations targeting Hezbollah positions, represents another move in a tit-for-tat sequence that has pushed the Middle East closer to the brink of regional war. Iran, a major supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas, fired dozens of missiles into Israel, prompting Israeli officials to warn of significant “repercussions.” The confrontation marks another dangerous chapter in an already explosive situation.
In southern Lebanon, the Israeli military reported that seven soldiers were killed in two separate Hezbollah attacks on Wednesday. Details remained sparse, but these losses came after Israel confirmed its first combat death in Lebanon since the beginning of its recent incursion—a 22-year-old captain from a commando brigade. Another seven soldiers were injured during the attacks. These combined losses, occurring just before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, represented one of the most significant casualty tolls for Israeli forces in recent months.
In Gaza, the nearly yearlong conflict continued to rage with no apparent end in sight. Israeli ground and air operations targeted the city of Khan Younis, resulting in the deaths of at least 51 Palestinians, including women and children, according to local medical officials. Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, has seen repeated assaults as part of Israel’s military operations aimed at dismantling Hamas’s capabilities.
Late Wednesday night, an Israeli airstrike targeted an apartment building near the center of Beirut, marking the second strike on central Beirut this week. The attack in the Bashoura district left at least six people dead and seven more wounded. Residents described a sulfur-like smell after the strike, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorus bombs, which are internationally banned in civilian areas. Human rights organizations have previously accused Israel of using white phosphorus in conflicts involving Lebanon, raising concerns about the humanitarian impact of such tactics.
In addition to the strike on central Beirut, multiple attacks were reported in the city’s southern suburbs. These areas were included in earlier evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli military, but the central Beirut district that was hit had not been given such a warning. This heightened fears over indiscriminate targeting and civilian safety.
As tensions escalate across multiple fronts, fears of a wider regional conflict involving Iran and possibly the United States have grown. The U.S. has already moved military assets into the region to support Israel. In Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Damascus on Wednesday evening, killing three people and wounding at least three others. An Associated Press journalist at the scene observed that the missile appeared to have hit the lower floors of a four-story apartment building. Israel did not immediately comment on the incident, as it frequently refrains from acknowledging strikes in Syria, where it often targets groups linked to Iran.
Hezbollah, widely regarded as one of the most formidable armed groups in the region, announced that its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in two areas near the border. The Israeli military reported that its ground forces, supported by airstrikes, killed militants in “close-range engagements,” though they did not specify exact locations. Israeli media further indicated that infantry and tank units were operating in southern Lebanon, following the deployment of thousands of additional troops and artillery to the area.
The deaths of the Israeli soldiers on Wednesday add to a series of military losses Israel has endured this year. Notably, eight Israeli soldiers were killed in June during an explosion in southern Gaza. Earlier, in January, an attack by Palestinian militants in central Gaza resulted in the deaths of 21 Israeli soldiers—the deadliest single attack on Israeli forces since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Israeli military has issued warnings to residents in 50 villages and towns north of the Awali River, roughly 60 kilometers from the border, to evacuate. This area extends beyond the northern edge of the buffer zone established by the United Nations after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese residents have already fled their homes in response to the expanding conflict. Israel has indicated that its military operations will continue until Hezbollah is sufficiently weakened, ensuring that tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from border regions can safely return home. Hezbollah, in response, has vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel until a ceasefire is declared in Gaza.
Over the past two weeks, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, nearly a quarter of whom were women and children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. As the toll mounts, diplomatic tensions have also surged. Israel took the extraordinary step of declaring U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata, effectively banning him from entering the country. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Guterres of failing to unequivocally condemn the Iranian missile attack, deepening an already wide rift between Israel and the United Nations.
In Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that at least 51 people were killed and 82 wounded in Khan Younis during an Israeli military operation that began early Wednesday. Records from the European Hospital in Gaza indicated that seven women and 12 children, including infants as young as 22 months, were among those killed. Additional strikes across Gaza killed 23 more people, including two children, according to local hospital reports.
Residents of Khan Younis described heavy bombardments by Israeli forces as they entered three neighborhoods. Mahmoud al-Razd, whose four relatives were killed in the strikes, spoke of the extensive destruction and the difficulties that first responders faced in reaching collapsed homes. “The explosions and shelling were massive,” he said. “Many people are thought to be under the rubble, and no one can retrieve them.”
Earlier this year, Khan Younis was the site of a prolonged Israeli offensive that left large portions of the city in ruins. Throughout the ongoing conflict, Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted Gaza, claiming that militants regroup in the area after each assault. The conflict took a sharp turn on October 7 when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages. Of those hostages, around 100 remain in captivity, with 65 believed to be alive.
The Israeli military has reported killing over 17,000 militants in Gaza, though it has not provided detailed evidence to substantiate these claims. Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry states that Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, with more than half reported to be women and children.
On Tuesday, Iran launched over 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation for recent Israeli operations that killed key figures from Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Revolutionary Guard. The missile barrage sent Israelis scrambling for bomb shelters as air-raid sirens blared and missiles lit up the night sky. Israel reported intercepting many of the incoming missiles, though several landed in central and southern areas of the country, including in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a Palestinian man was killed.
In response to the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it.” U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated his administration’s unwavering support for Israel, adding that he was discussing potential responses with his advisors. Iran, for its part, has threatened even more intense strikes if its sovereignty is violated again.
The missile barrage was, according to Iranian officials, a response to a series of Israeli strikes that killed senior leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Among the slain were Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Guard General Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in Beirut by Israeli airstrikes last week. Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent leader of Hamas, was also mentioned, having been killed in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.
