The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says its intensified attacks along Israel’s northern border this week demonstrate to Israeli leaders that an all-out war would be costly, senior official Sheikh Ali Daamoush said in a sermon during Friday prayers.
Iran-backed Hezbollah militants launched dozens of rockets Friday in a third day of retaliation for the killing of a senior commander. The Israeli military said approximately 35 projectiles were identified.
Cross-border attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have been taking place almost daily since the war in Gaza began in October. The escalation comes as some Israeli leaders have threatened all-out war to silence Hezbollah’s rocket fire, and as the militant group seeks to pressure Israel during the cease-fire negotiations in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday he doesn’t expect to seal a Gaza cease-fire deal in the near future, as an American-backed proposal with global support has not been fully embraced by Israel or Hamas.
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:
— US-built pier in Gaza is facing its latest challenge — whether the UN will keep delivering the aid
— Israelis and Palestinians are hopeful but cautious over the latest cease-fire plan.
— What are the main sticking points in the cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas?
— Muslims start the Hajj against the backdrop of the destructive Israel-Hamas war
— US Navy faces its most intense combat since World War II against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels
— Report by UN-backed experts cites crimes by Israeli forces and Palestinian militants starting 0ct. 7.
Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
JERUSALEM — Israel will not join a trilateral effort to stem fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group proposed by France’s president, Israel’s defense minister said Friday.
