Dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Wednesday morning, hours after an Israeli airstrike killed four senior members of the militant group Hezbollah, including a senior military commander.
The Israeli military said it detected around 90 projectiles, several of which were intercepted, and that the attacks caused several fires.
Taleb Sami Abdullah, 55, known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb, was the most senior commander killed since fighting began eight months ago. His death comes amid rising tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border, as Hezbollah intensifies attacks on northern Israel and Israeli airstrikes hit deep into Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Hamas responded to a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal, saying it wanted “modifications” to the agreement. The militant group’s response fell short of the full acceptance that the U.S. had sought, but negotiations continued. Eight-month war with no end in sight.
While Hamas officials support the broad outlines of the agreement, they are wary of whether Israel will implement its terms, particularly its complete withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for a final and permanent end to the fighting and the release of all hostages held by militant groups.
More than 37,100 people have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to a Gaza official. Ministry of Public HealthThere is no distinction between combatants and civilians in the count. Widespread hunger By war, Food, medicines and other suppliesUN agencies say more than one million people in the Gaza Strip Highest level of hunger By mid-July.
Israel then started the war Hamas’ October 7 attackMilitants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.
the current:
— Hamas responds to Gaza ceasefire plan They want change. The US is “evaluating” the response.
— Prime Minister Netanyahu’s biggest rival leaves Israel’s war cabinet. What impact will this have? The Prime Minister and Gaza?
— The United Nations says Violence against children Conflicts, including in Gaza, reached extreme levels in 2023
— Dozens arrested in new case Pro-Palestinian protest At the University of California, Los Angeles.
— The United Nations said Israeli forces and Palestinian militants May have committed war crimes in deadly attack
– what Israel rescues four prisoners And what does the killing of 274 Palestinians mean for ceasefire negotiations?
See AP’s Gaza war coverage below: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
The latest information is as follows:
Rockets fired from Lebanon after Israel kills Hezbollah commander
BEIRUT — Dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Wednesday morning, hours after an Israeli airstrike killed four senior members of the militant group Hezbollah and also killed a senior military commander.
The Israeli military said it detected around 90 projectiles, some of which were intercepted, and that the attacks caused several fires.
Taleb Sami Abdullah, 55, known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb, was the most senior commander killed since fighting began eight months ago. His death comes amid rising tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border, as Hezbollah intensifies attacks on northern Israel and Israeli airstrikes hit deep into Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that rockets had been fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, and Israeli media said sirens were sounded in northern Israel.
The Hezbollah official said Abdullah was the highest-ranking commander killed in Lebanon since the recent wave of violence along the Lebanon-Israel border began in October, adding that he was commander of Hezbollah’s Nasr Forces, responsible for areas of southern Lebanon close to the Israeli border.
Israeli military attacks destroyed a house where Abdullah and three other officials were holding a meeting in Juwaya, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border, late Tuesday.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Abdullah was more senior than commander Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in January.
Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 400 people, mostly Hezbollah members, but also more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza.
— Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says senior commander killed
BEIRUT — Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced the death of one of its commanders, identified as Taleb Sami Abdullah, or “Hajj Abu Taleb,” early Wednesday.
The group did not provide details about the location or circumstances of Abdullah’s death but said he was a “martyr on the road to Jerusalem,” a term it uses to describe those killed in the current conflict with Israel. Hezbollah released a photo of Abdullah next to another senior commander, Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli attack in January.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Abdullah’s death.
Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified last month as Israel launched an offensive on Gaza’s main southern city of Rafah. Hezbollah has also stepped up its attacks, striking deeper into Israel and adopting new, more sophisticated weaponry.
Hundreds of Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli drone strikes since the firefight began on October 8, the day after Israel’s war with Hamas began in Gaza.
Since then, more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah members, including more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. At least 15 Israeli soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed on the Israeli side.
