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CAIRO (AP) — Since mid-September, there has been a dizzying escalation in the nearly yearlong conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
First came two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah — attacks widely blamed on Israel that killed at least 39 people and maimed thousands more.
Hezbollah’s leader vowed to retaliate, and on Sept. 20 the militant group launched a wave of rockets into northern Israel. Days later, Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed hundreds of people — the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Both sides had already been exchanging tit-for-tat strikes since October, when Hezbollah began firing on northern Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas, which is battling Israel in Gaza.
Several Hezbollah leaders have been targeted, including the commander of its most elite unit, who was killed in a strike in Beirut.
Both sides have pulled back when the spiral of reprisals appeared on the verge of getting out of control, under heavy pressure from the U.S. and its allies. In recent weeks, however, Israeli leaders have warned of a possible bigger military operation to stop attacks from Lebanon and allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the fighting to return to homes near the border.
Meanwhile, International Organization for Migration estimated Thursday that more than 200,000 people have been displaced by the conflict in Lebanon, including more than 100,000 who were displaced before the recent escalation. Tens of thousands have crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria.
Here are some things to know about the situation:
The Israeli military said Friday it struck the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut, where a series of massive explosions leveled multiple buildings. The bombings were the biggest blasts to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year.
At least two people were killed and dozens were wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
The Israeli army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said it targeted the main Hezbollah headquarters, located beneath residential buildings.
At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes early in the day, Health Minister Firass Abiad said, bringing the death toll in Lebanon this week to more than 720. He said the dead included dozens of women and children.
The Israeli military said it intercepted four drones that crossed the border from Lebanon early Friday. Israel said another 10 projectiles were either intercepted or landed in fields, and that its military later targeted the launchers in Lebanon behind the missile attacks.
The United States, France and other allies jointly called for an immediate 21-day cease-fire in the conflict to “provide space for diplomacy.” The announcement came amid growing fears that the violence could become an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, which would further destabilize a region already shaken by the war in Gaza.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the two sides on Wednesday to “step back from the brink.”
Addressing world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dampened any hopes for a cease-fire with Hezbollah, saying his country cannot tolerate the daily attacks from Lebanon that have driven Israelis from their homes.
“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing ... we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” Netanyahu said.
Hezbollah has said it cannot halt its strikes on Israel unless there is a cease-fire in the conflict in Gaza.
Israeli military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told troops stationed on the northern border Wednesday that ongoing air strikes were “to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.”
Meanwhile, as fighting in Gaza slowed, Israel increased its forces along the Lebanese border, including the arrival of a powerful army division believed to include thousands of troops. On Wednesday, Israel announced it would deploy two reserve brigades for missions in the north, and on Thursday The Associated Press saw the Israeli military transporting tanks and armored vehicles toward the northern border.
A new war could be even worse than the one in 2006, which was traumatic enough to serve as a deterrent for both sides ever since. That fighting killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and an estimated 1,100 Lebanese civilians, and left large swaths of the south and parts of Beirut in ruins. More than 120 Israeli soldiers were killed and hundreds were wounded. Hezbollah missile fire on Israeli cities killed dozens of civilians.
Israel estimates that Hezbollah possesses about 150,000 rockets and missiles, some of which are precision-guided, putting the entire country within range. Israel has beefed up its air defenses, but it’s unclear whether it can defend against the intense barrages of a new war.
Israel says it could turn southern Lebanon into a battle zone, saying Hezbollah has embedded rockets, weapons and forces along the border. And in the heightened rhetoric of the past months, Israeli politicians have spoken of inflicting the same damage in Lebanon that the military has wreaked in Gaza.
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This story was initially published on Sep. 20, 2024, and updated daily. It was updated on Sep. 27, 2024 to correct the death toll for Israel’s Sept. 23 strikes, the number of displaced Israelis and when the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the two sides to “step back from the brink.”