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Israel pounded by Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon amid fears over wider Mideast war

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Israel pounded by Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon amid fears over wider Mideast war

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A barrage of more than 100 rockets pounded northern Israeli towns Wednesday as clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah heated up, threatening a full-blown expansion of the Gaza war into Lebanon.

Firefighters in Israel were battling blazes touched off by Hezbollah’s aerial assault that came hours after the death of high-ranking Hezbollah commander Sami Taleb Abdullah. The Israeli military said Abdullah, the most senior Hezbollah leader taken out since the Gaza war began, was killed in an attack by its warplanes on the militant group’s headquarters for southeastern Lebanon.

“Over the years he planned, promoted and carried out many acts of terrorism against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Israeli military said on social media. Three other militants also were killed in the attack, the post said.

Hezbollah’s retaliatory barrage primarily targeted an Israeli defense factory, the group said. The attack was among the biggest since the Gaza war began, but the missile strikes have forced thousands of Israeli’s from their border homes for months.

Hashem Safi al-Din, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Committee, pledged Wednesday to increase attacks on Israel in “intensity, force, quantity and type.”

Israeli leaders have been weighing a plan to launch an offensive into Lebanon. For now the military says it will continue to target Hezbollah commanders blamed for attacks on Israel.

Latest cease-fire plan: Israeli official says Hamas rejected deal

Developments:

∎ Thousands jammed Beirut streets Wednesday for the funeral of Abdullah, who the Israeli military says is a longtime commander having served in leadership roles for almost 20 years.

∎ Israeli jets carried out 30 strikes across Gaza over the past day, the Israeli military said. Targets included militants and militant-held buildings, rocket launchers, tunnel shafts and other infrastructure.

∎ U.S. Central Command said it destroyed two anti-ship cruise missile launchers in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.  The launchers presented an “imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces and to merchant vessels transiting the region,” the command said in a statement.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Hamas response to the latest cease-fire proposal includes some unworkable changes. Blinken, at a briefing with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, said the proposal is almost identical to a plan Hamas suggested last month − and that Israel and the rest of the world is ready to accept. Blinken said Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. would continue efforts to broker a cease-fire.

Sheikh Mohammed agreed that the proposal is the best way to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel.

“We are witnessing a shift in this conflict in the recent period, and there is a clear and firm call to end this war,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

A U.N. report released Wednesday found that Israel and Hamas both committed war crimes early in the Gaza war, and that Israel also committed crimes against humanity because of the massive civilian deaths and destruction.

The findings came from the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, one study focusing on the Oct. 7 attacks and another on Israel’s response. The findings were based on interviews with victims and witnesses conducted remotely and during missions to Turkey and Egypt.

Israel did not cooperate with the commission and dismissed the findings as anti-Israeli bias. Hamas did not immediately respond to the report.

“It is imperative that all those who have committed crimes be held accountable,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission. “The only way to stop the recurring cycles of violence, including aggression and retribution by both sides, is to ensure strict adherence to international law.”

Contributing: Reuters

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