Page 45 - Latest Updates on Iran-Israel conflict: What to expect next

Hezbollah fires volley at Israel as fears of greater war rise after bombing

Hezbollah fired a new barrage into northern Israel on Thursday, continuing its drumbeat of exchanges with the Israeli military as fears of a greater war rise after hundreds of electronic devices exploded in Lebanon, killing at least 32 people and wounding more than 3,000 others. The device explosions appeared to be the culmination of a monthslong operation by Israel to target as many Hezbollah members as possible all at once. Over two days, pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, wounding and even crippling some fighters, but also maiming civilians connected to the group's social branches and killing at least two children. It was unclear how the attack fit into warnings by Israeli leaders in recent weeks that they could launch a stepped-up military operation against Hezbollah, Lebanon's strongest armed force. The Israeli government has called it a war aim to end the Iranian-backed group's crossborder fire in order to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to ...

After explosions in Lebanon, is Israel preparing for war with Hezbollah?

With Israel's defense minister announcing a new phase of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before. Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict appear to be fading quickly as Israel signals a desire to change the status quo in the country's north, where it has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah since the Lebanese militant group began attacking on Oct. 8, a day after the war's opening salvo by Hamas. In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country's security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal. Here's a look at how Israel is preparing for a war with Lebanon: Troops drawn from Gaza to the northern border While the daily fighting between Israe

Pager bombs shock Hezbollah, report claims Israel planned attack in 2022

Lebanon-based Hezbollah, a militant group, was targeted in simultaneous explosions from 5,000 pager devices and walkie-talkies over the past two days. The group has blamed Israel for the attacks

Hezbollah pager bombs: Israel's original plan failed. So here's what it did

Israeli intelligence agency Mossad reportedly inserted explosives into thousands of pagers during production before the devices reached Hezbollah

Hezbollah pager bombs latest in long list of Israeli strikes on its enemies

Israel has a history of executing sophisticated remote operations, which include complex cyberattacks, remote-controlled machine guns, and suicide drone attacks

8 including Hezbollah members killed in pager explosions in Lebanon, Syria

Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government officials said. Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack that wounded more than 2,700 people at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border. The Israeli military declined to comment. A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others. Lebanon's health minister, Firas Abiad, said at least eight people were killed and 2,750 wounded 200 of them critically. Iranian state-run IRNA news agency said that the country's ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, was superficially wounded by an exploding pager and was being treated

Exploding pager: How Israel may have injured hundreds of Hezbollah fighters

A Hezbollah official told international media that the detonation of the pagers is the 'biggest security breach' the group has experienced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel

Missile fired by Yemen's rebels lands in Israel, triggers air raid sirens

A missile fired by Yemen's Iran-backed rebels landed in an open area in central Israel early Sunday and triggered air raid sirens at its international airport, in the latest reverberation from the nearly yearlong war in Gaza. Israel hinted that it would respond militarily. There were no reports of casualties or major damage, but Israeli media aired footage showing people racing to shelters in Ben Gurion International Airport. The airport authority said it resumed normal operations shortly thereafter. A fire could be seen in a rural area of central Israel, and local media showed images of what appeared to be a fragment from an interceptor that landed on an escalator in a train station in the central town of Modiin. The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile using its multitiered air defences but had not yet determined whether any had been successful. It said the missile appeared to have fragmented midair, and that the incident is still under review.

Iran's president Pezeshkian slams West over war in Gaza, support for Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday slammed the West, saying that Israel is committing massacres in the war in Gaza and using European and American weapons to do so. Pezeshkian, who spoke in Baghdad at the start of his first visit abroad since taking office, is hoping to cement Tehran's ties to Baghdad as regional tensions increasingly pull both majority Shiite countries into the widening Middle East fray. Iran has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian militant Hamas group since its Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted, according to local health officials. The war has also caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. The Israeli entity is committing massacres against women, children, young men and elderly. They bomb hospitals and schools, Pezeshkian said. All these crimes are being committed

Brown University trustee Edelman resigns over divestment vote on Israel

Brian Clark, a school spokesperson, responded that Edelman has a 'fundamental misunderstanding of the decisions that led to the upcoming vote on divestment'

Israeli strikes left 18 dead in biggest toll since war in Gaza began: Syria

The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria's health minister said on Monday the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza. One of the sites targeted was a research centre used in the development of weapons, a war monitor said. Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas a Hezbollah ally in Gaza. However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the ...

As Iran threatens Israel, danger of missile programme remains in question

As Iran threatens to attack Israel over the assassination of a Hamas leader in the Iranian capital, its long-vaunted missile program offers one of the few ways for Tehran to strike back directly, but questions loom over just how much of a danger it poses. The program was behind Iran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel in April, when Iran became the first nation to launch such a barrage since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein lobbed Scud missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War. But few of the Iranian projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a US-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed while in flight. Even those that reached Israel appeared to miss their marks. Now a new report by experts shared exclusively with The Associated Press suggests one of Tehran's most advanced missiles is far less accurate than previously thought. The April assault showed "some ability to strike Israel, said Sam Lair, a research associate at the Jame

Beirut residents scramble to make contingency plans after Israeli airstrike

Residents of Beirut's southern suburbs have been scrambling to make contingency plans since an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in a busy neighbourhood killed a top Hezbollah commander and touched off fears of a full-scale war. For most, that means moving in with relatives or renting homes in Christian, Druze or Sunni-majority areas of Lebanon that are generally considered safer than the Shiite-majority areas where the Hezbollah militant group has its main operations and base of support. But for a small number, plan B is a move to neighbouring Syria. Although Syria is in its 14th year of civil war, active fighting has long been frozen in much of the country. Lebanese citizens, who can cross the border without a visa, regularly visit Damascus. And renting an apartment is significantly cheaper in Syria than in Lebanon. Zahra Ghaddar said she and her family were shaken when they saw an apartment building reduced to rubble by the July 30 drone strike in her area, known as ...

Palestinian militants kill 3 Israeli police officers in West Bank

Palestinian militants killed three Israeli police officers on Sunday when they opened fire on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, where Israel has carried out large-scale raids in recent days. The attack took place along a road in the southern West Bank. The raids have mainly been focused on urban refugee camps in the northern part of the territory, where Israeli forces have traded fire with militants on a near-daily basis since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The police confirmed that all three killed were officers and said the assailants slipped away. A little-known militant group calling itself the Khalil al-Rahman Brigade claimed responsibility. Hamas praised the attack as a natural response to the war in Gaza and called for more. The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas' October 7 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Over 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, mainly during Israeli military arrest raids. Most appear to have been militants ...

Israel, Hezbollah step back, but for how long? All eyes on Iran's next move

The Israelis claim to have thwarted what could have been a large-scale Hezbollah assault

Iran's foreign min vows retaliation against Israel over Haniyeh's death

Iran's foreign minister again has referenced his country's planned retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Abbas Araghchi said late Sunday he made the remark in a conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani by telephone. Iran reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated, Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it unlike Israel. Tajani said in a statement he called for restraint and to pursue a constructive approach, in order to stop the cycle of military actions in the region, which only risks bringing more suffering. It is important that Iran exercises moderation towards Hezbollah in order to avert an escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Italian soldiers of the UNIFIL contingent are operating, and towards the Houthis in order to avoid an increase in tensions in the Red Sea area, where Italy plays a leading role in the .

Diplomacy intensifies to halt Israel-Hamas war, prevent rise in conflict

International diplomacy to prevent the war in Gaza from spreading into a wider regional conflict intensified Friday, with the British and French foreign ministers making a joint trip to Israel while internationally mediated cease-fire talks in Qatar were expected to enter their second day. The new push for an end to the Israel-Hamas war came as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza climbed past 40,000, according to Gaza health authorities, and fears remained high that Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon would attack Israel in retaliation for the killings of top militant leaders. This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. The risk of the situation spiraling out of control is rising. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region. Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stphane Sjourn were expected hold a joint meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. It's never too

Families of hostages in Gaza hope cease-fire talks will end their nightmare

Some families of hostages held in Gaza believe the latest round of cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas could be the last best chance to set their loved ones free after more than 300 days of captivity. The families have advocated tirelessly to secure the release of their relatives, who were snatched on Oct. 7 during Hamas' cross-border attack that started the war. Their hope that the latest talks could result in a breakthrough is tinged by 10 months of disappointment - and the growing fear of a wider Mideast war as Israel faces rising tensions with Iran and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon. Roughly 110 hostages remain in Gaza after about 100 were freed during a brief cease-fire in late November. More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in the war, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Throughout the war, the families of hostages have pushed on with anguish and despair, rallying Israelis to their cau

10 months & counting: How long will Israel-Hamas war last? Fitch has answer

Gaza war: The leaders of France, Germany, and Britain have jointly endorsed the latest efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to broker an agreement to end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war

Suspected Houthi attack targets ship in southern Red Sea, officials say

A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the southern reaches of the Red Sea early Tuesday, officials said, the latest in their campaign of assaults over the Israel-Hamas war. The attack comes as Yemen's main sponsor, Iran, weighs a possible retaliatory attack against Israel over the assassination of Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in late July, which has renewed fears of a wider regional war breaking out across the Mideast. Already, the Houthi assaults have have disrupted the $1 trillion of goods that flow annually through the maritime route crucial to trade between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, while also sparking the most intense combat the US Navy has seen since World War II. The attack happened around 115 kilometres (70 miles) south of the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. The attack saw an explosive detonate near the ship, though the vessel and crew are reported safe, the UKMTO