Israel Archives - Page 3 of 4

Netanyahu vows to use ‘full force’ against Hezbollah and dims hopes for a cease-fire

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli prime minister appears to be downplaying hopes of an imminent truce with Hezbollah after the United States and its allies called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to “provide space for diplomacy.” In a statement released as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was headed to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, his office said there was only a proposal on the table and that he had not yet responded to it. The statement also denied that there had been any directive to ease up on fighting on the northern border with Lebanon. The comments raised questions about a new international initiative to halt increasingly heavy exchanges of fire that have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon and threatened to trigger an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.… Continue Reading

Israel tells its troops to prepare for a possible ground operation in Lebanon

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli army chief says the military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon. He made the statement Wednesday as Hezbollah hurled dozens of projectiles into Israel, including a missile aimed at Tel Aviv that was the militant group’s deepest strike yet. Addressing troops on the northern border, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the latest Israeli airstrikes were designed to ”prepare the ground for your possible entry.” Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 72 people. That raised the death toll from the past three days to 636, with more than 2,000 people wounded. The U.S., France and other allies jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire.… Continue Reading

Israel says it killed a Hezbollah commander as the two sides exchange more strikes

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military says it has killed a top commander with Hezbollah’s missile and rocket unit in a strike in Beirut. Military officials made the announcement Tuesday about Ibrahim Kobeisi. They said he was responsible for launches towards Israel. The military also said “other key commanders” were with Kobeisi at the time of the strike, but officials did not say whether any of the others were killed or wounded.… Continue Reading

Israeli strikes kill 492 in Lebanon’s deadliest day of conflict since 2006

MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli strikes on Monday killed more than 490 Lebanese, including more than 90 women and children, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war as the Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of a widening air campaign against Hezbollah. Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut in the biggest exodus since 2006. The health ministry said the strikes killed 492 people, including 35 children and 58 women, and wounded 1,645 people — a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.… Continue Reading

Hezbollah hits back with rockets as it declares an ‘open-ended battle’ with Israel

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — Hezbollah has launched more than 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel and Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Kassem said Sunday that his group is now in an open-ended battle with Israel. The rocket barrage overnight was in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon that have killed dozens, including a veteran Hezbollah commander, and an unprecedented attack targeting the group’s communications devices. Air raid sirens echoed across northern Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people scrambling into shelters. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was actively engaged “quiet, assertive diplomacy” in hopes of preventing an all-out war.… Continue Reading

Top Hezbollah leader was among the 37 people killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut apartment block

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israel’s military says a top Hezbollah leader was among those killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment block. Lebanese officials on Saturday raised the death toll from Friday afternoon’s airstrike to 37, including seven women and three children. Lebanon’s health minister told reporters Saturday that 68 people were also wounded, including 15 who are hospitalized. The Israeli military says that among those killed was Ibrahim Akil, one of Hezbollah’s most senior leaders and the commander of its special forces group the Radwan Force. Israel claims the strike killed 16 Hezbollah fighters who were meeting in the building’s basement. On Saturday, Israel and Hezbollah continued to trade fire across the border.… Continue Reading

Rare Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills Hezbollah commander and more than a dozen others

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel has launched a rare airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah military official in a densely populated southern Beirut neighborhood. It was the deadliest such strike on Lebanon’s capital in decades, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 14 people killed and dozens more wounded in the attack. The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiya district killed Ibrahim Akil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, as well as 10 other Hezbollah operatives. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described the Israeli strike that targeted Akil as part of “a new phase of war.” Several hours later, Hezbollah confirmed Akil’s death.… Continue Reading

Hezbollah attacks Israel with drones as fears of a widening war mount

BEIRUT (AP) — A new Hezbollah volley into northern Israel signals the group is keeping up its drumbeat of exchanges with the Israeli military. Lebanon was still reeling from this week’s unprecedented mass bombings via electronic devices, widely believed to be an attack by Israel. Over two days hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies largely used by Hezbollah detonated, killing at least 32 people, including two children, and wounding 3,000 others. The latest Hezbollah volley, which wounded eight in Israel, was a signal it would continue the fire after the attack and even as Israeli has warned of a possible escalated military operation in Lebanon.… Continue Reading

Lebanon is rocked again by exploding devices as Israel declares a ‘new phase’ of war

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s defense minister declares a “new phase” of war as Hezbollah officials and Lebanon’s state media say explosions went off in Beirut and multiple parts of Lebanon in an apparent second wave of detonations of electronic devices. The Hezbollah officials and state media said Wednesday that walkie-talkies and even solar equipment detonated a day after hundreds of pagers blew up. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 14 people were killed and 450 were wounded. Israel’s defense minister made no mention of the mysterious waves of exploding devices in his remarks.… Continue Reading

Blinken says surprise escalations threaten to derail talks for a cease-fire in Gaza

CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed frustration at surprise escalations that threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Speaking Wednesday in Egypt, Blinken said the U.S. is assessing a deadly attack that caused pagers used by Hezbollah to explode in Lebanon. The U.S., Egypt and other international partners are working for an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt nearly a year of fighting in Gaza and release hostages held by the militant group. The U.S. says such a deal is the best chance at tamping down wider regional tensions, with Israeli leaders threatening to step up military action against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the pager attack risking further escalation.… Continue Reading