Iran and Israel swap threats following Tehran’s missile barrage
The Middle East moved closer to a long-feared regional war the day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel. Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies.
Earlier this week, Israel said it began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
A summary of the key issues surrounding the conflict and the latest updates, follow below…
Here’s what to know
How we got here: In recent days, a wave of Israeli airstrikes has killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders, while driving hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes. Israel then launched what it said was a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon.
Why did Iran launch missiles toward Israel? Iran said the missiles were in response to the killing of Hezbollah’s leader and his top commanders. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.
Have there been clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops? There were no signs of ground combat in southern Lebanon, and the Israeli official said there had been no clashes with Hezbollah.
Israeli military says a soldier has died in fighting in Lebanon
The Israeli military has announced its first combat death since launching ground operations in Lebanon this week.
The military said on Wednesday that Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, a 22-year-old in a commando brigade, was killed in combat in Lebanon.
The military didn’t immediately provide other details.
Danish police arrest 3 men over explosions near the Israeli Embassy
By JAN M. OLSEN
Danish police say three men have been arrested in connection with the explosions overnight near the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen.
Two men were detained on a train at Copenhagen’s central station while a third man was arrested ”elsewhere” in the Danish capital, police said Wednesday. They didn’t identify the men.
The Ekstra Bladet newspaper ran photos of a man in a white hazmat suit being taken away by police on a train platform at the central station.
Extra security was planned around the main synagogue in downtown Copenhagen, the Jewish community said and urged people “to be aware when moving in public spaces.”
Lebanese army says Israeli troops carried out a brief incursion into Lebanon
By ABBY SEWELL
The Lebanese army says Israeli forces breached approximately 400 meters (yards) into Lebanese territory on Wednesday and then withdrew “after a short period.”
The statement was the first official acknowledgement from Beirut that Israeli forces have carried out a ground incursion into Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah’s chief spokesman, Mohammed Afif, told reporters touring sites of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs that Hezbollah had “fought a heroic battle this morning” in the southern villages of Odaisseh and Maroun al-Ras against Israeli soldiers who launched a ground incursion into Lebanon.
Israeli police say 7 people died in Tuesday’s shooting attack in a Tel Aviv suburb
By MELANIE LIDMAN, NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Israeli police said on Wednesday that a total of seven people were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv the previous evening, minutes before the Iranian missile barrage.
One of the people killed was a Greek national, authorities in Athens said. He was a resident of Jerusalem.
Two Palestinian men from the Israeli-occupied West Bank town of Hebron opened fire in the Jaffa neighbourhood on Tuesday night, including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a station.
On Wednesday, locals left flowers and candles at the train stop, where bullet holes peppered the signs and train stop benches.
Maya Brandwine, a 33-year-old resident of the neighborhood, said she was at a local coffee shop on the street when the shooting broke out. During the subsequent Iranian missile attack she ended up sheltering in a bomb shelter with police carrying out sweeps for additional suspects.
Israel’s foreign minister bars UN chief from entering Israel
By TIA GOLDENBERG
Israel’s foreign minister says he has barred the United Nations secretary-general from entering Israel, accusing him of being biased against the country.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that he was declaring Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” and that he would be prevented from entering Israel.
The move deepens an already wide rift between Israel and the United Nations.
Iran’s supreme leader slams US presence in the Mideast in his first remarks since missile attack on Israel
By NASSER KARIMI
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has slammed the presence of American and European nations in the Middle East.
The remarks by Khamenei on Wednesday were his first since Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel the previous night. He made no mention of that attack.
He said Western presence is a source of “conflicts, wars, concerns and enmities” and added that “regional nations can manage themselves and … live together in peace.”
Iran has long seen the presence of U.S. troops in the Middle East as a threat.
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