Israel-Hamas war latest: Hezbollah leader says Israel crossed a `red line'

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah is promising to retaliate for deadly attacks on its communication devices after Israel's defense minister announced a “new phase” of the war.

Hezbollah and the Israeli military traded new strikes over the border on Thursday. Fears are increasing that 11 months of exchanges of fire between the two sides will escalate into all-out war.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, said Israel crossed a “red line” this week after bombings widely blamed on Israel in which hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah were remotely detonated in Lebanon and Syria.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. They have come close to a full-blown war on several occasions.