Israel strikes back, kills 6 in Beirut after 8 soldiers died fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon | 10 updates
Israel-Hezbollah war: The clashes came after Iran launched its largest missile attack on Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran would pay for its “big mistake”.
Israel-Hezbollah war updates: Hours after Israel said its eight soldiers were killed – its first losses since launching cross-border raids this week – the military carried out a deadly air raid on Thursday on a Hezbollah rescue facility in central Beirut, killing at least six people.
Israel's bombardment comes after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. Hezbollah said it repelled an Israeli infiltration into southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
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The clashes came hours after Iran launched its largest missile attack yet on Israel, its sworn enemy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran would pay for its “big mistake”.
Israel has bombarded Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold, having dealt a significant blow to the group last week by killing its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a massive strike.
Watch: Hezbollah bleeds IDF; soldiers killed In Lebanon ground invasion
10 updates on Israel-Hezbollah-Iran conflict:
- Israel carried out the air raid on Beirut after Iran launched its largest missile attack yet on its arch-foe Israel.
- Iran, which backs Hezbollah militant group, said it would step up its response if Israel retaliates, defying calls for de-escalation in a war that has cost more than 1,000 lives in Lebanon.
- The latest Israeli strike hit a Hezbollah rescue facility, a source close to the group told news agency AFP, killing at least six people, according to a Lebanese health ministry toll.
- A day after its military said it was conducting “targeted ground raids” in south Lebanon, Israel reported the first death of a soldier in the Israel-Hezbollah war, a toll that later rose to eight dead.
- Hezbollah said it forced Israeli soldiers to retreat, targeted an Israeli unit with explosives, and destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced on Maroun al-Ras village.
- The Israeli military said it staged two brief incursions into Lebanon, ordering residents to flee more than 20 areas.
- The military released footage that it said showed soldiers inside Lebanon, moving through villages and mountainous areas on foot, and announced it had deployed a second division to support the fighting.
- Lebanon's health ministry said 46 people were killed and 85 others injured by Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said an Israeli strike in Damascus killed four people including Hassan Jaafar al-Qasir, son-in-law of the slain Hezbollah leader.
- Hours after Israel announced the start of ground operations in Lebanon, Iran fired some 200 missiles including hypersonic weapons, sending frightened Israeli civilians into shelters. Israel said it intercepted most of them. Two people were wounded by shrapnel and a school building was damaged.
(With inputs from agencies)
