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Lebanon’s Hezbollah has launched more than 50 rockets, hitting a number of private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
The attack on Wednesday came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.
Hamas in a new statement called the latest proposal presented to it a “reversal” of what it agreed to previously and accused the U.S. of acquiescing to what it called “new conditions” from Israel. There was no immediate U.S. response.
First responders in Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger tragedy by stopping a gas leak.
Hezbollah said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19. On Tuesday, Hezbollah launched more than 200 projectiles toward Israel, after Israel targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border, a significant increase in the daily skirmishes.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hezbollah’s ally, Hamas, in Gaza. The exchanges have killed more than 500 people in Lebanon — mostly militants but also including around 100 civilians and non-combatants — and 23 soldiers and 26 civilians in Israel.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it, saying it needs the strategic plateau for its security. The United States is the only country to recognize Israel’s annexation, while the rest of the international community considers the Golan to be occupied Syrian territory.
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Israel says military is shifting its attention to the border with Lebanon
TEL AVIV, Israel — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel’s military is shifting its attention from Gaza to the border with Lebanon.
Touring northern Israel on Tuesday, Gallant said Israel has scaled back its activities in Gaza, where it has been fighting a war against Hamas for nearly a year, and turned its focus to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
“Our strongholds are moving from the south to the north, we are gradually changing, we still have a number of missions in the south,” Gallant told troops.
Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The sides have been engaged in almost daily fighting since then, raising fears of a broader regionwide war. Those fears have grown as Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for an Israeli strike in Beirut last month that killed a top Hezbollah commander.
Hezbollah launched more than 120 projectiles towards northern Israel on Tuesday, causing damage to a home and sparking a number of fires. Israel said it was striking the source of the launches.
More than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon, including at least 100 civilians. In Israel, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed.
