Israel stepped up its offensive against the Iran-backed militant group Hizbollah on Wednesday even as the region prepared to respond to a missile attack by Tehran that raised fears of an all-out war.
The Israel Defense Forces shelled Hizbollah strongholds in southern Beirut, while elite commando units faced fierce resistance from the group’s fighters as they advanced on the Lebanese border.
The Israeli military said eight Israeli soldiers were killed and several injured as “targeted” IDF raids on Lebanese territory entered their second day.
Hizbollah said they fought Israeli troops in at least three different locations along the border, killing and wounding several people.
Israeli strikes on Wednesday night hit central and southern Beirut areas, killing five people and injuring at least one other, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 46 people were killed and 85 injured in the previous 24 hours.
The war escalated when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swear revenge against Tehran after dozens of missiles were fired Israel.
“Iran made a big mistake — and they will pay for it,” he said Tuesday. “Whoever attacks us, we will attack them.”
Iran’s surprise missile attack, which it said was in response to Israel’s assassination of senior leaders of Hizbollah and Hamas, brought the region closer to a conflict. comprehensive conflict as Israel escalates its offensive against Tehran’s proxies.
In the past two weeks, Israel has assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbollah, launched a wave of attacks against the group in Lebanon, bombed a port controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen and blamed it for attacks. explosion in Syria.
Israeli forces continued the ground offensive they began against Hizbollah in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.
According to Syrian state media, the country’s air force also attacked Damascus on Wednesday afternoon, killing three civilians.
Hizbollah said Wednesday that its fighters repelled a group of Israeli troops “trying to infiltrate” the southern community of Odeisseh, near the border.
Hours later, Hizbollah said it clashed with Israeli troops about 20km southwest of Odeisseh and detonated an explosive device that killed and wounded a group of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the village of Yaroun.
Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati pleaded with both sides to agree to a ceasefire, saying 1.2 million people had been displaced by Israeli attacks on the rebel group.
“Stop fighting. We don’t need more blood. We don’t need any more destruction,” he said during an online press conference Wednesday night.
Only a handful of Iranian missiles made it through Israel’s sophisticated air defense system Tuesday, including one that appeared to have been an attack near the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.
One death was reported in the Palestinian city of Jericho, where a man was hit by debris from an intercepted missile.
A person briefed on the situation said Iran had targeted military and intelligence infrastructure near Tel Aviv and other facilities elsewhere in the country.
Iran said the attacks were in retaliation for targeted Israeli killings across the region, including Nasrallah on Friday, and threatened to respond if Israel retaliated.
“Our action will end unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X on Wednesday. In that scenario, our response will become stronger and stronger.”
Araghchi said he had spoken to his British, German and French counterparts, warning that while Iran did not seek war, it was “not afraid of it”. He also called on “any third party” to refrain from intervention, an apparent reference to the United States.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday appeared to blame the US and European countries for the escalation in the region.
“The cause of all the problems in the region is the presence of the very parties who wrongly advocate peace and stability in the region,” he said, without mentioning the missile attack by Iran enters Israel.
Hizbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif said Wednesday that its conflict with Israel will take place “in waves.” “If you have beaten us in this round it is only the first time,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel, saying Tehran risks “burning down the entire region”. “We must prevent that at all costs,” he said. “Hizbollah and Iran must immediately stop their attacks on Israel.”
The depth of Israel’s ground offensive into Lebanon remains unclear more than a day after the IDF said it was conducting targeted attacks just across the country’s northern border.
The IDF said it was sending additional forces to engage in what it called “limited, localized, targeted attacks” on Lebanese territory, including troops from the Golani infantry brigade and a separate armored group.
The Israeli military has been conducting covert attacks in the area for nearly a year since Hizbollah began its assault on northern Israel the day after the October 7 attack by Hamas.
In the oil market, international benchmark Brent crude was up 2.2% at $75.14 a barrel on Wednesday, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 2.4% at 71.52 USD/barrel.
Prices jumped as much as 5% after the Iranian attack on Tuesday night.
Additional reporting by William Sandlund in Hong Kong, Bita Ghaffari in Tehran, Heba Saleh in Beirut, Felicia Schwartz in New York and Henry Foy in Brussels
