Scores of rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Wednesday morning, hours after Israeli airstrikes killed four officials from the militant Hezbollah group including a senior military commander.
The Israeli military said that about 90 projectiles were detected, of which some were intercepted, and that several fires were caused by the strikes.
Taleb Sami Abdullah, 55, who was known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb, was the most senior commander killed since fighting began eight months ago. His death came amid rising escalation along the Lebanon-Israel border that has seen Hezbollah intensify its attacks on northern Israel while Israeli airstrikes have struck deep inside Lebanon.
On Tuesday, Hamas responded to the U.S.-backed proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, saying it wants some “amendments” on the deal. The militant group’s reply apparently fell short of an outright acceptance that the United States has been pushing for but kept negotiations alive over an elusive halt to the eight-month war.
While supporting the broad outlines of the deal, Hamas officials have expressed wariness over whether Israel would implement its terms, particularly provisions for an eventual permanent end to fighting and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of all hostages held by the militants.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies. U.N. agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Currently:
— Hamas responds to Gaza cease-fire plan seeking some changes. The US says it’s ‘evaluating’ the reply
— Netanyahu’s top rival left Israel’s war Cabinet. How does that affect the prime minister and Gaza?
— UN says violence against children in conflict reached extreme levels in 2023, including in Gaza
— Dozens arrested in new pro-Palestinian protests at University of California, Los Angeles.
— UN says Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups may have committed war crimes in a deadly raid
— What does Israel’s rescue of 4 captives, and the killing of 274 Palestinians, mean for truce talks?
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
Rockets fired from Lebanon after Israel kills Hezbollah commander
BEIRUT — Scores of rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Wednesday morning, hours after Israeli airstrikes killed four officials from the militant Hezbollah group including a senior military commander.
The Israeli military said that about 90 projectiles were detected. It said that some were intercepted, and that several fires were caused by the strikes.
Taleb Sami Abdullah, 55, who was known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb, was the most senior commander killed since fighting began eight months ago. His death came amid rising escalation along the Lebanon-Israel border that has seen Hezbollah intensify its attacks on northern Israel while Israeli airstrikes have struck deep inside Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that rockets were being fired from south Lebanon into northern Israel. Sirens were sounded in northern Israel, according to Israeli media.
A Hezbollah official said Abdullah was the most senior commander to be killed in Lebanon since the latest round of violence along the Lebanon-Israel border began in October adding that he was the commander of the group’s Nasr Unit that is charge of parts of south Lebanon close to the Israeli border.
The Israeli strike destroyed a house in Jwaya where Abdullah and three other officials were holding a meeting, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, late on Tuesday.
The Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Abdullah was more senior than a commander who was killed in January, Wissam al-Tawil.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed over 400 people, most of them Hezbollah members, but the dead also include more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began.
— AP writer Bassem Mroue contributed.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says a senior commander has been killed
BEIRUT — Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced early Wednesday the death of one of its commanders, identified as Taleb Sami Abdullah or “Hajj Abu Taleb.”
The group did not give details on the location and circumstances of his death, but identified him as a “martyr on the road to Jerusalem,” the term it uses for those killed in the current conflict with Israel. Hezbollah published a photo of Abdullah alongside Wissam al-Tawil, another senior commander killed in an Israeli strike in January.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Abdullah’s death.
Cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in the past month, as Israel launched its offensive into the key southern Gaza city of Rafah. Hezbollah has also stepped up its attacks, striking deeper inside Israel and introduced new and more advanced weaponry.
Israeli drone strikes have killed hundreds of Hezbollah members since exchanges of fire began on Oct. 8, a day after the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza.
Since then, more than 400 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah members. The dead also include more than 70 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, at least 15 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed.
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