Israel-Hamas war latest: Israel turns its focus north toward Lebanon and Hezbollah

Israel’s defense minister has declared the start of a “new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus toward the northern front against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Two waves of explosive attacks hit Syria and Lebanon: an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah that killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000 on Tuesday, and exploding walkie-talkies and other electronics Wednesday across Lebanon that killed at least 20 people and injured 450 others.

“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Wednesday.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged strikes along the border Thursday, as the militant group’s leader Nasrallah vowed retaliation for attacks on the group’s devices.

He said Israel targeted thousands of pagers and detonated them at the same time crossing a “red line.”

While its leader Nasrallah was speaking, Hezbollah announced four strikes on northern Israel.

Israel said that two of its soldiers were killed by the latest Hezbollah strikes across the Lebanon border.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

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Here's the latest:

US urges American citizens in Lebanon to keep a low profile

WASHINGTON —The State Department is urging U.S. citizens in Lebanon to maintain a low profile and review their security awareness following a spate of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies that targeted members of the militant group Hezbollah.

In alerts sent to the American community in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut repeated existing advice to consider leaving the country and reiterated the State Department’s warning against all travel to the country.

“Following the explosion of communications devices in Lebanon on September 17 and September 18, the U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens to exercise security awareness of their surroundings, maintain a low profile, and take appropriate measures to ensure their safety and security,” the embassy said. “U.S. citizens living and working in Lebanon should understand that they accept risks in remaining and should carefully consider those risks.”

It noted that the current situation has put a strain on the ability of both Lebanese institutions and the U.S. embassy to provide services to those in need of assistance. “Until the situation stabilizes, U.S. citizens should anticipate limited availability of medical care in Lebanon, most notably in the city of Beirut,” it said.

State Department and White House officials say there are long-standing contingency plans for the potential evacuation of Americans in Lebanon but that they have no information to suggest that those will become operational anytime soon.

“We have evacuation plans available for places all over the world,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. “But I wouldn’t lead that to believe that we’re in a moment now where we think we need to imminently call for that or act on that right now.”

Previous evacuations of Americans from Lebanon have included the use of military assets but have relied mainly on chartered ferries from Beirut to Cyprus.

There are tens of thousands of Americans living in and visiting Lebanon at any one time, the vast majority of whom are dual U.S.-Lebanon citizens.

Israel says two of its soldiers were killed by the latest Hezbollah strikes

BEIRUT —Israel says two of its soldiers were killed by the latest Hezbollah strikes across the Lebanon border.

Israel and Hezbollah exchange strikes along the border, as Nasrallah vows retaliation

BEIRUT —Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged strikes along the border, as the militant group's leader Nasrallah vows retaliation for attacks on the group’s devices.

In his speech, the Hezbollah leader vowed retaliation against Israel over this week’s explosions in Lebanon saying “the enemy will face a severe and fair punishment from where they expect and don’t expect.”

Hezbollah announced 4 strikes on northern Israel

BEIRUT — While its leader Nasrallah was speaking, Hezbollah announced four strikes on northern Israel.

Hezbollah leader warns that people displaced from their homes in northern Israel will not be able to return until the war continues

BEIRUT - The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group defied Israel’s leaders on Thursday that they will not be able to return tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes to northern Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues.

Speaking about Netanyahu’s goal to return residents of northern Israel to their homes, Nasrallah said: “Can you achieve this goal? Neither you, nor Galant nor all your army can achieve this.”

“You cannot return to bring the people of the north to the north,” Nasrallah said. “The only way is stop the aggression on the people of Gaza and the West Bank.”

“Neither strikes, nor assassinations nor an all-out war will achieve that,” Nasrallah said about Israeli threats of war to bring back residents of northern Israel to their homes.

Hezbollah leader says attack on the group’s communication devices was a ‘severe blow’ that crossed a ’red line'

BERUIT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said Israel targeted thousands of pagers and detonated them at the same time crossing a “red line.”

Hassan Nasrallah said the group has formed committees to investigate how this attack over two days that wounded thousands happened. Nasrallah added that Hezbollah was subjected to an unprecedented blow.

“Yes, we were subjected to a huge and severe blow,” Nasrallah said describing the past two days as harsh. He vowed Hezbollah would get over the blow.

Nasrallah said, “The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines. Some of the explosions took place in hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, homes, cars and streets where many civilians are present.”

Nasrallah added that as a result of “this aggression dozens were killed including women and children and thousands were wounded.”

“When they detonated all these pagers their aim was to kill 4,000 human beings at the same time.

“This was the intention of the enemy and the level of crime they have reached,” he said.

“Over two days and in one minute on Tuesday and in one minute on Wednesday the Israeli enemy was aiming to kill 5,000 in two minutes without any boundaries,” Nasrallah said.

“We will call them the massacres of Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls for restraint after receiving the Palestinian President in Madrid

MADRID —Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for restraint following the wave of explosives attacks in the Middle East, after he received the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Madrid.

“Today the risk of escalation has again dangerously increased. President Abbas and I have been talking about it in Lebanon, so we have to make a new and strong call for restraint, for de-escalation, for peaceful coexistence between countries. In short, to peace,” said Sánchez after a 45-minute meeting with Abbas.

This was the first meeting between the leaders since Spain recognized Palestine as a state on May 28, in a coordinated action with Ireland and Norway. Sanchez mentioned the strong importance that his government gave to the advisory opinion given by the International Court of Justice, which established the illegality of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Abbas, for his part, called for a Middle East Peace Conference to be held in Madrid, like the one that took place 33 years ago in the Spanish capital.

Second day of device explosions in Lebanon killed 25 people and wounded more than 600 others

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s health minister says 25 people were killed and more than 600 wounded during the second day of exploding device attacks that were blamed on Israel.

Firass Abiad told reporters on Thursday that the injuries were more severe in Wednesday's attack, since the walkie-talkies that exploded then were bigger than the pagers used a day earlier.

Of the 608 people wounded on Wednesday, 61 remain in intensive care, Abiad said, adding that 141 surgeries were performed.

The number of dead in the first day of attacks, on Tuesday, remained 12, the minister said, noting that more than 1,300 people suffered injuries ranging from mid-level to severe. Abiad said 226 people wounded on Tuesday remain in intensive care and 955 operations have been performed.

The latest death toll raises the number of people killed by exploding devices to 37 since Tuesday, while the number of injured is above 3,000.

Many of those killed and wounded were members of the militant Hezbollah group.

Iranian ambassador injured in Lebanon device attack is transferred to Tehran

TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, who was injured in the exploding device attacks this week, has been transferred to Tehran, the Iranian Embassy said Thursday.

Ambassador Mojtaba Amani's general health is “very good," the embassy said in a statement. Amani along with some 90 injured Lebanese citizens were transferred to Tehran on Wednesday night, it added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Amani in a Tehran hospital, state media reported.

Iran is the main supporter of Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese group that Israel sees it as its most direct threat. Many of the group’s fighters were killed and injured in the explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Turkish foreign minister alleges that exploding device attacks are Israeli strategy to expand war to Lebanon

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described the waves of exploding communication devices as a strategy by Israel to expand the war in Gaza to Lebanon.

Fidan, in an interview with the state-run Anadolu Agency on Thursday, also voiced concerns over a wider regional conflict.

“We have seen that (Israel) has, step by step, started to escalate (the conflict) toward Lebanon,” he said.

Pagers and walkie-talkies used mainly by members of the militant Hezbollah group exploded in different parts of Lebanon over the past two days, killing killing dozens and wounding 3,000 people.

“The escalation in the region is really worrying,” Fidan said. “We have reached the point where these operations being carried out by Israel are increasingly turning more provocative and in return, Hezbollah, Iran and other elements that are close to them are being faced with no other option than to respond.”

Hezbollah says it struck military positions in northern Israel, wounding at least 8 people

JERUSALEM — Hezbollah has struck what it says are military positions in northern Israel as part of its ongoing attacks in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, wounding at least eight people.

The militant group has vowed to continue such operations after several of its members were killed and thousands wounded when their personal devices exploded, in what appeared to be a sophisticated attack by Israel.

Hezbollah claimed to have struck three military positions near the border on Thursday, two of them with armed drones. The Israeli military said the drones crashed near communities and did not report any casualties.

Sharon Koren, a spokesperson for Ziv Hospital, said two people were undergoing orthopedic surgery and four were lightly wounded in the attacks. Avi Weissman, the deputy director of Rambam Hospital, said one person was undergoing surgery and another was in moderate condition.

Hezbollah began striking northern Israel shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both close allies of Iran.

Israel has responded to the near-daily fire with escalating strikes of its own and in recent days has warned of a wider military operation.

The military said early Thursday that it had struck several militant sites in southern Lebanon overnight.

Israeli strikes kill at least 10 in Gaza, including 3 women and 3 children

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes have killed at least 10 people in the Gaza Strip, including three women and three children.

They were laid to rest Thursday after the overnight strikes in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. Records at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed the toll and an Associated Press reporter counted the bodies.

Mohammed Abu Huweij said his wife and three children were killed while he was out getting food.

“The eldest, Mira, was 8 years old and the youngest was 9 months. What did they do?” he said. “I left, and when I came back my entire family had been martyred.”

Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians in its nearly yearlong campaign against Hamas, which operates in residential areas. The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7 in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not say how many were fighters, but says a little over half were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Lebanon bans pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights departing from Beirut airport

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s civil aviation authorities have banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The measure announced Thursday comes after such devices, mainly used by members of the militant Hezbollah group, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing dozens and wounding 3,000 people over the past two days.

The authorities called on all airline companies to inform passengers using the airport that carrying pagers and walkie-talkies onto jets is banned “until further notice.” It added that authorities will confiscate such devices found with passengers.

Israeli citizen indicted for involvement in Iranian assassination plot, Israeli security officials say

JERUSALEM — Israeli security officials say an Israeli citizen has been indicted for involvement in an Iranian assassination plot against top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A statement from the Shin Bet internal security agency on Thursday said that the citizen was recruited by Iranian intelligence to “carry out terrorist activities” on Israeli soil and “promote assassination attacks” on Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar.

It was unclear how far the alleged plot had advanced. The statement did not say whether the Israeli had obtained a weapon or developed a concrete plan.

The statement said the Israeli had traveled to Iran twice — once in August following the assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an explosion in Iran’s capital that was widely blamed on Israel. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

The Shin Bet said the assassination plot was an attempt by Iran to follow through on its pledge to avenge his death.

The statement said the Israeli was paid 5,000 euros ($5,575.60) but had demanded a million dollars before doing anything. The Iranians refused the demand but said they would be in touch, according to the Shin Bet.

Earlier this week, the Shin Bet said an explosion in a Tel Aviv park last September was linked to an attempt by Hezbollah to assassinate Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief of staff and defense minister.

The Lebanese militant group is closely allied with Iran.

On Tuesday, the police said they had found and dismantled a similar explosive device fitted with a camera and a mechanism that would allow it to be activated by Hezbollah.

It was unclear whether the indicted Israeli was linked to either of the alleged bomb plots.

Bulgaria rejects claims that exploding devices were shipped through its territory

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian authorities rejected claims that exploding devices have been shipped through the territory of the Balkan country.

“No customs operations with communication equipment (pagers) have been carried out through the territory of Bulgaria,” the state agency for national security said in a statement on Thursday.

It came in response to media reports alleging that a company registered in Bulgaria had supplied the Lebanese organization Hezbollah with the devices, which later exploded in Lebanon and Syria.

The statement added that the agency was carrying out joint checks with the National Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Interior over the alleged involvement of a Bulgarian-registered company in the supply of communications equipment to Hezbollah.

The Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd., owned by a Norwegian citizen, has been linked by Hungarian media to the sale of the devices that exploded in Lebanon.

Norta Global Ltd. was registered in April 2022 as a project management company, but there is no data available that they produce anything, and there are no records available about their financial operations. It is registered at the same address in downtown Sofia as 196 other companies.

Japanese electronics company says walkie-talkie with its logo reportedly used in explosive attacks against Hezbollah was discontinued 10 years ago

TOKYO — Japanese wireless communication equipment-maker Icom says it cannot confirm whether a walkie-talkie used in the explosive attacks against Hezbollah was related to the company, noting that the production and sales of that device and its battery were discontinued about a decade ago.

The Osaka-based Icom was responding Thursday to a report that said one of the walkie-talkies used in the attacks a day earlier had a sticker with the company’s logo. Icom also noted that the device in question did not have an anti-counterfeit hologram sticker, which all authentic Icom products should be carrying.

Company executive Yoshiki Enomoto told Japanese television NTV he was “surprised” by the news. He said the company could not confirm if the unit in question was Icom-made.

“This specific device had a lot of fake copies out in the market,” he said, adding that company officials could only determine its authenticity if they see its circuits.

Icom said the wireless radio unit IC-V82 was once manufactured for export including to the Middle East from 2004 to October 2014. But the production and shipment of its main unit ended about 10 years ago and batteries for the main units have also been discontinued.

The company said its export models are only distributed through official sales representatives under rigid export control rules set by the Japanese Trade Ministry.

All Icom radio equipment is manufactured by its subsidiary, Wakayama Icom Inc., under strict security controls that only allow use of authorized parts. The products are only manufactured at the Wakayama plant in Japan, Icom said.