By Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Euan Ward, Liam Stack and Aaron Boxerman
Israel and Hezbollah said their troops were fighting at close range in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed a military response to Iran for firing ballistic missiles at Israel in an attack that has further set the region on edge.
Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had clashed with Israeli soldiers in at least one Lebanese town, Maroun al-Ras, about a mile from the evacuated Israeli town of Avivim, which the militia said it had targeted with rockets.
Israel said eight of its soldiers had been killed in the first day and a half of combat in Lebanon, a relatively high toll compared with the daily losses the military has taken in the war in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military gave no details of how its soldiers had died, but had earlier said they were engaged in close quarters combat.
The escalating fighting in Lebanon came as the Middle East remained anxious after Iran’s missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday. Though the roughly 200 missiles were mostly intercepted by Israel’s air defenses with the help of the United States and other allies, Netanyahu said that Iran, a longtime adversary, had “made a big mistake” and would “pay for it.”
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he would not support an attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear sites, telling reporters that he and other leaders of the Group of 7 major industrialized nations supported Israel’s right to respond to Iran’s missile attack Tuesday, but believed that the response must be proportional. He said the G7 leaders had agreed to impose additional sanctions on Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday’s hourlong assault was retribution for the recent assassinations of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, another of its proxies that is fighting Israel in Gaza. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s top military officer, said the missiles had been aimed at three military bases and the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence service.
Video verified by The New York Times showed dozens of missiles exploding in different parts of Israel on Tuesday, including about a quarter-mile from the Mossad headquarters. Israel’s military said an air force base had sustained “a few hits,” but that essential infrastructure had been spared. Photos showed damage elsewhere, including to a school in southern Israel and buildings in Tel Aviv.
The barrage of Iranian missiles came a day after Israeli ground forces pushed into parts of southern Lebanon in an invasion the military said aimed to eliminate Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel. Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and elsewhere in the country killed 55 people and wounded over 150 others Tuesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
Here is what else to know:
— Shooting in Tel Aviv: At least seven people were killed in Tel Aviv, Israel, after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a light rail train Tuesday, according to Israeli authorities. Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the shooting Wednesday, saying the two shooters stabbed a soldier and took his gun for the attack.
— West Bank death: There were no reports of casualties in Israel from the Iranian missiles. One Palestinian man, a laborer from Gaza, was killed by falling shrapnel in the occupied West Bank.
— Israel bars Guterres: Israel has barred U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, criticizing him for failing to forcefully condemn Iran’s latest missile attack. Guterres addressed an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that was convened to discuss Iran’s attacks and how to prevent a wider war.
— Allied support: President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. military had “actively supported” Israel’s defense. France and Britain said they too had been involved.
— Powerful missiles: Photos and videos of debris suggested Iran used some of its most advanced weaponry to target Israel on Tuesday night. The weapons may include Fattah missiles, which Iran has not used before, experts said.
— Syria attack: An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Damascus, the Syrian capital, killed three people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news media. The attack comes a day after state news media said Israeli strikes on the city killed one of its TV anchors, Safaa Ahmed, and two other civilians.
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