Threat of Israel-Hezbollah war looms after Lebanon device explosions
People attending a funeral for victims of Tuesday’s pager attacks in Lebanon react after an explosion in a store, in southern Beirut, Sept. 18, 2024. (ABC News)
(LONDON) — The threat of a wider war is looming over the Israel-Lebanon border after two consecutive days of explosions across Lebanon and in Syria, confirmed to have killed at least 32 people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restated his intention of returning tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to their homes in the north of the country, parts of which have been emptied by the threat of Hezbollah attacks.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, said the “center of gravity” of Israel’s 11-month-old war against Hamas and its backers “is shifting” from the Gaza Strip to the northern border with Lebanon.
The Israeli rhetoric was punctuated by two waves of explosions in Lebanon.
Pager devices exploded on Tuesday prompting chaos in the capital Beirut and across the Hezbollah militant group’s southern heartland. On Wednesday, walkie-talkies exploded, some during funeral processions being held for militants killed in Tuesday’s explosions.
An ABC News source confirmed that Israel was behind the Tuesday pager attacks. Israeli leaders have not publicly commented on either round of explosions.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said that at least 32 people — including two children — were killed across the country. More than 3,250 people were injured, it said.
Hezbollah said 20 of its members were killed in Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions. Another 11 were killed in Tuesday’s pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria, bringing the overall death toll for the group to 31.
The Iranian-backed group blamed Israel for both waves of explosions and vowed a “reckoning.” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to address the situation in a public address on Thursday afternoon.
The militant group claimed several retaliatory strikes into Israel this week — including on Thursday morning — with Israel Defense Forces warplanes and artillery responding.
Cross-border fire has been near-constant since Oct. 8, when Hezbollah began attacks in protest of the IDF operation into the Gaza Strip — the response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 infiltration attack into southern Israel.
But as Gallant told reporters on Wednesday, “I believe that we are at the onset of a new phase in this war.”
A source confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that Israel’s 98th Division is being deployed from Gaza battlefields to the north of the country.
“We are determined to change the security reality as soon as possible,” Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, head of the IDF’s Northern Command, said. “The commitment of the commanders and the troops here is complete, with peak readiness for any task that will be required.”
The war, U.S. officials have long warned, could spiral into a broader conflict involving Iran — a prime benefactor of both Hezbollah and Hamas.
Notable casualties demonstrated the multinational nature of the crisis. A detonating pager injured at least 14 people in Syria, where both Hezbollah and Iranian forces have been active for several years in support of its president, Bashar al-Assad.
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, was also among the thousands injured, Iranian officials said. Tehran “will duly follow up on the attack against its ambassador in Lebanon,” the country’s ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter to U.N. leaders on Wednesday.
Israel and Iran have already exchanged significant strikes since Oct. 7. Israel assassinated a top Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in Syria in April and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. Iran fired a huge barrage of drones and missiles toward Israel in response to Zahedi’s killing.
This week’s bombings in Lebanon raised the possibility of further action, whether overt or covert. Police announced on Thursday that an Israeli citizen was arrested on suspicion of working with Iranian intelligence to assassinate leaders including Netanyahu and Gallant.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated U.S. appeals for calm during a press conference in Egypt on Wednesday, where he traveled for fresh Gaza cease-fire talks.
“Broadly speaking, we’ve been very clear, and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza,” Blinken said.
A conflict spreading to other fronts, he added, is “clearly not in the interest of anyone involved.”
The U.S., Blinken and other American officials said, were not involved in or pre-briefed on the remote explosions that rocked Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Gallant spoke with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin three times in two days, the latest conversation on Wednesday reaffirming the “unwavering U.S. support for Israel in the face of threats from Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Iran’s other regional partners” and the need for de-escalation, a Pentagon readout said.
U.S. officials were notified by Israeli counterparts on Tuesday that they were planning an operation against Hezbollah, but did not provide any details about what they were going to do, U.S. officials said.
(NEW YORK) — Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging hundreds of cross-border strikes in the wake of the shocking explosions of wireless devices across Lebanon last week.
Here’s how the news is developing:
At least 492 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
At least 492 people were killed and over 1,600 injured in Lebanon early Monday as the Israeli military expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Among the deceased were 35 children and 58 women, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck at least 800 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed they were changing “the security balance, the balance of power in the North.”
“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy — we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every arena, at any time,” Netanyahu said. “We eliminate senior officials, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles — and our hands are bent.”
“Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more,” he added.
Hezbollah senior commander Ali Karaki, who was targeted in Monday’s strike on Beirut, survived the attack, Hezbollah officials said.
Two senior Israeli sources confirmed to ABC News that Karaki had been the target of the strike.
At least 356 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
At least 356 people were killed and over 1,200 injured in Lebanon early Monday as the Israeli military expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Among the deceased were 24 children and 42 women, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck at least 800 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed they were changing “the security balance, the balance of power in the North.”
“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy — we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every arena, at any time,” Netanyahu said. “We eliminate senior officials, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles — and our hands are bent.”
“Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more,” he added.
At least 6 injured in Israeli strike on southern Beirut
At least six people were injured Monday in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut, according to Lebanese state media.
The Israel Defense Forces conducted the targeted missile strike on a residential building in Bir al-Abd, a southern suburb of Beirut.
US deploying ‘small number’ of additional troops to Middle East, DOD says
The U.S. is sending “a small number” of additional troops to the Middle East amid growing tensions in the region, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced Monday.
“In light of increased tension in the Middle East, and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” Ryder said.
He would not give additional details on the size or nature of these additional forces, citing operational security concerns.
IDF calls for more civilians to evacuate Lebanon
As Israeli forces continue to bombard southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces is calling on civilians living in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley to leave now. This comes after an earlier call for civilians to leave southern Lebanon.
“I urge the Lebanese residents of the villages in the Beqaa Valley who are inside or near houses where rockets and weapons are stored, to move away immediately! For your safety and protection,” IDF spokesman spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Monday.
Hagari claimed every house the IDF is striking contains rockets, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles “that are intended to kill Israeli civilians.”
Hundreds killed and wounded by Israeli bombing, Lebanese authorities say
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said 100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday.
Women, children and medical personnel were among the casualties, the ministry said.
Israeli warplanes struck 300 Hezbollah targets in the south of the country on Monday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said, following a weekend of intense exchanges across the Israel-Lebanon border.
ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Morgan Winsor
Israel strikes 300 targets in southern Lebanon
Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck at least 300 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces, the attacks coinciding with an IDF warning of an expanded airstrike campaign against Hezbollah.
A steady bombardment rocked several Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and 20 injured in the ongoing strikes.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
IDF previews new strikes on targets ‘throughout Lebanon’
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warned Lebanese border residents that more Israeli strikes are planned against Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure” — specifically on homes hiding missiles.
In a statement and accompanying video released on Monday morning, Hagari accused Hezbollah of using residential properties to house and fire cruise missiles.
“The terrorists create a designated opening for the missile launch,” Hagari said, showing footage of a purported strike on a building being prepared for an attack by a Hezbollah operative.
“Shortly, the IDF will engage in extensive, precise strikes against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon,” Hagari added.
“We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm’s way for their own safety.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Joe Simonetti
IDF striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israeli forces are “currently conducting extensive strikes” on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the IDF said in a release early Monday morning local time.
No further details were immediately available.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Israeli fighter jets intercept drone fired from Iraq
Israeli Air Force fighter jets “successfully intercepted” a drone that was fired from Iraq and approached its territory early Monday morning local time, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“Following the sirens that sounded between 04:45 and 04:54 in the Southern Golan area, IAF fighter jets successfully intercepted a UAV that was fired from Iraq and approached Israeli territory from Syria,” the IDF said.
No injuries were reported, according to the IDF.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility for a drone attack towards Israel early Monday morning in a statement posted on Telegram.
This is the second time drones fired from Iraq towards Israel have been intercepted by the IDF between Sunday and Monday.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Netanyahu considering plan to force civilians out of northern Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering implementing a plan that would involve forcing all Palestinian civilians to leave northern Gaza, and then refusing to allow any aid in to the remaining people, laying siege to the area.
News that Netanyahu was considering the plan was first reported by CNN on Sunday.
The plan was formulated by a group of retired Israeli generals, led by Giora Eiland, who was head of Israel’s National Security Council from 2004 to 2006.
It does not address whether Palestinians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza in the future if Israel were to carry out the plan.
Eiland told ABC News he presented the plan in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, last week. A press readout of that meeting said the head of the committee Eiland spoke to said he would speak with Netanyahu about the plan.
Eiland said he believes there is “wide political and military support for the plan,” and that while he hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu personally, he’s spoken to people close to the prime minister. “The PM knows the plan and is considering to adopt it,” Eiland told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
UAV from Iraq intercepted over Golan Heights, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said it detected an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Iraq crossing into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday night.
Interceptors were launched toward it and no injuries were reported, according to the IDF.
On Sunday morning, an IDF spokesperson said three projectiles had been detected coming from Iraq overnight, but all of them were intercepted.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF strikes 2nd Gaza school in 2 days
The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a strike Sunday on a school in Gaza City, which it said was targeting Hamas militants operating inside the school.
It was the second strike on a Gaza school in two days.
The Gaza Civil Defense said six people were killed in Sunday’s strike.
The IDF claimed that “terrorists were operating from within a compound that previously served as the ‘Kafr Qasem’ School.” It said in a statement, in part, that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israel ‘can’t accept’ Hezbollah attacks, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released two statements Sunday — one in Hebrew and one in English — addressing the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
In both statements, the prime minister said Israel is committed to returning tens of thousands of evacuated citizens to the north of the country.
“We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” he said.
In the statement in Hebrew, the prime minister said Israel dealt a heavy blow to Hezbollah this week, adding: “If Hezbollah did not understand the message, I promise you — it will understand the message.”
In the English statement, Netanyahu compared Hamas and Hezbollah, noting the latter’s daily tempo of attacks since Oct. 8. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities,” he said. “We can’t accept it either.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz also released a statement addressed to other foreign ministers, saying the world must force Hezbollah to comply with a 2006 United Nations resolution that required the militant group to stay north of the Litani River in Lebanon; around 18 miles north of the Israeli border.
“We will do everything necessary to protect our citizens. If the world does not withdraw Hezbollah north of Litani in accordance with Resolution 1701 — Israel will do so,” Katz said.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Israel strikes Lebanon after 115 Hezbollah launches, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces is again striking “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in Lebanon as of Sunday morning amid renewed cross-border fire, the IDF said in a statement.
“Over the past few hours, Hezbollah launched approximately 115 aerial threats toward civilian areas in northern Israel,” the IDF said.
“The IDF defensive arrays are deployed in the area” and are “on high preparedness to thwart threats,” it added.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
4 injured by shrapnel in northern Israel, emergency service says
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said its responders treated four people who sustained shrapnel injuries in the north of the country on Sunday morning, as Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces continued intense cross-border strikes.
Among those reported injured were a 76-year-old male “in moderate condition from a shrapnel wound to the upper body,” as well as a 16-year-old female “in mild condition,” the MDA said in a post to X.
Both were injured in the Krayot region near the northern city of Haifa, less than 20 miles from the border with Lebanon.
Several other people were “mildly injured” or “suffering from anxiety” while heading to safe areas and shelters in northern Israel, the MDA said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel closes schools, beaches in north amid attacks
The Israel Defense Forces has issued new defensive guidelines for the north of the country amid intensifying cross-border fire by the Hezbollah militant group and a ramped up IDF strike campaign in southern Lebanon and Beirut.
Outdoor gatherings must now be limited to 10 people and indoor gatherings at 100 people, the IDF said in its new guidance.
Beaches will be closed and all educational activities “prohibited,” the force said. Work activities can continue if workers are within reach of a protected space.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
State Dept. updates level 4 travel advisory for Lebanon
The U.S. State Department reissued its level 4 “do not travel” warning for Lebanon Saturday to include threats posed by “recent explosions throughout Lebanon, including Beirut.”
The Department’s prevailing guidance for American citizens in the country—which is to “depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available”—is unchanged from its last advisory issued in July.
“At this time, commercial flights are available, but at reduced capacity. If the security situation worsens, commercial options to depart may become unavailable,” the advisory said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
Israel striking Lebanon, upping defense readiness in north: Israeli official
Israel’s chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari addressed the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, saying in a statement Israel is currently conducting more strikes in Lebanon and has struck 400 “targets” on Saturday alone.
He also announced a change to defensive readiness for Israelis in Haifa and north of Haifa. They must now always be able to reach a shelter quickly and gatherings are limited to 300 people indoors and 30 people outdoors.
Asked about a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, he would only say, “Our mission is to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and for that we will do whatever it takes.”
Hagari also addressed Gaza and said Israeli forces killed militants they believe were holding Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostages who were found dead last month.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
IDF says it struck 180 targets in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck 180 targets in Lebanon on Saturday, targeting “launcher barrels” that were ready for launching weapons toward Israel.
Four people have been injured in the Israeli strikes Saturday, one critically, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
The IDF said 90 launches were identified coming from Lebanon today but no casualties or damage were reported.
Hezbollah said they have launched nine aerial attacks toward Israel on Saturday.
The IDF said it “will continue operating to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and terror infrastructure.”
– ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Anna Burd.
37 dead in Israel’s Beirut strike, Lebanon ministry says
The Lebanese health ministry issued another update Saturday, bringing the total number of dead in Friday’s Beirut strike to 37. It says first responders are continuing to search the rubble.
The dead include at least three children – ages 4, 6 and 10 – and seven women, the ministry said during a press conference earlier. Dozens more people have been wounded.
The Israel Defense Forces described the strike on Friday as a “targeted” assault.
22 dead in Israeli strike on Gaza school, Gaza Health Ministry says
Twenty-two people were killed and 30 more were injured in an Israeli strike on a school in Gaza City, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.
Civil Defense, the local first responders, said they recovered the bodies of 13 children.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement a military strike targeted terrorists who were operational in a “Hamas command and control center.”
Video shows rubble strewn in hallways and classrooms turned shelters. A witness told Reuters that women and children were gathered in the yard when two missiles hit the school.
Additional verified video shows first responders gathering body parts from under rubble, along with toddlers with severed limbs being tended to.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, IDF says
The Israeli military on Saturday began strikes within Lebanon that were aimed at targets belonging to the Hezbollah militant group, the Israel Defense Forces said.
31 dead in Beirut strike, Lebanon ministry says
Thirty-one people were killed and 68 were injured in Israel’s strike on Friday in Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday.
Among the dead are three children — ages 4, 6 and 10 — and seven women, the ministry said during a press conference. Three Syrian nationals were also killed, it said.
Among the wounded, 53 have been discharged from hospital. Two remain in critical condition, the ministry said.
Rescue teams were on Saturday morning still searching the rubble searching for additional bodies. The health multiple buildings and cars were damaged and destroyed in the strike.
The Israel Defense Force described the strike on Friday as a “targeted” assault, saying it killed a key Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, along with his chain of command.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Nasser Atta, Emma Ogao and Victoria Beaule
Israeli device attacks emphasize depth of security breach: Sources
The Israeli strike on Beirut on the heels of pager and walkie-talkie explosions this week are designed to emphasize to Hezbollah and Iran the depth of the security breach Israel has achieved, two intelligence sources told ABC News.
The sentiment is if the Israelis can plant exploding pagers and radios, they could have already placed sources and devices that reveal key info and personnel in places thought to be protected, sources said.
The Israelis could well be trying to soften the ground for an assault, but the sources believe the consequence of this week’s events could actually be a realization by Iran and Hezbollah that a return to the uneasy status quo on the northern border might be the right move right now.
Prior to the pager explosions, Israeli intelligence had been running out of actionable information about locations and patterns of life among top Hezbollah officials. Learning where the pagers and radios were and who had them created an invaluable trove of intel.
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin
Key Hezbollah leader, commanders killed in strike in Beirut, Israel says
A key Hezbollah commander and members of his chain of command were killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut on Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces, as tensions continue to rise along the Israel-Lebanon border.
At least nine people, including a key Hezbollah member, were killed in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut Friday.
Ibrahim Aqil, a senior member of Hezbollah and the target of the strike in southern Beirut, was killed, according to the Israeli army. Top operatives and the chain of command of the Raduan unit were also killed in the strike, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Aqil and the commanders who were killed were allegedly planning to occupy Galilee, in what Israel claimed would have been similar to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
Delta pauses flights between New York and Tel Aviv through December
Delta Air Lines has paused all flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv, Israel, through Dec. 31 due to the “ongoing conflict in the region,” the airline said in a release Thursday.
“Customers impacted by the schedule change will receive notifications via the Fly Delta app and contact information listed in their reservation as these cancellations are processed in Delta’s system,” Delta said in a statement.
Travelers can still book seats on Delta partner airlines Air France and EL AL Israel Airlines through Delta’s website.
Germany being selective with arms shipments to Israel
Germany is being selective with what arms it is sending to Israel in light of rising tensions with Hezbollah and Hamas.
“There is no ban on licenses for arms exports to Israel and there will be no ban. The Federal Government decides on the granting of licenses for arms exports on a case-by-case basis and in the light of the respective situation after careful examination, taking into account foreign and security policy considerations in accordance with legal and political requirements,” the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection said in a statement.
“In doing so, the Federal Government takes into account compliance with international humanitarian law. In this case-by-case assessment, the current situation is always taken into account, including the attacks on Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah as well as the course of the operation in Gaza,” the ministry said.
Lebanon death toll rises after device explosions
At least 37 people — including two children — were killed across the country by exploding communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Al-Abyad said in a press conference Thursday. About 3,000 people were injured, he said.
“It is certain that what happened in terms of aggression is considered a war crime, as the majority of the injuries were recorded in civilian areas and not in the battlefield, and the government is doing its duty and has called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, and human rights organizations are doing their duty on this issue,” Al-Abyad said.
Hezbollah said 20 of its members were killed in Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions. Another 11 were killed in Tuesday’s pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria, bringing the overall death toll for the group to 31.
Israel was responsible for Tuesday’s explosions, a source confirmed to ABC News, in which pagers detonated across Beirut and southern Lebanon. Walkie-talkies exploded on Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Nasser Atta and Ghazi Balkiz
IDF carrying out strikes in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it is carrying out strikes in Lebanon to “degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure,” according to a statement.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields. The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes, as well as to achieve of all of the war goals,” the IDF said in a statement.
The strikes come after two consecutive days of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkie devices in Lebanon, which left at least 37 people dead.
Israeli arrested over Iran-directed plot to kill Netanyahu, police say
Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence service foiled an alleged plot to kill Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu and other prominent individuals, according to details of an indictment released on Thursday.
Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli businessman from the city of Ashkelon, is accused of twice smuggling himself into Iran via Turkey to meet with intelligence officials directing would-be plots from Tehran.
The discussions allegedly included potential plans to attack Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, among others.
Police and Shin Bet said the alleged plots were intended as retaliation for the killing of Ismail Hanieyh in Tehran in July, which Iran blamed on Israel.
A joint police and Shin Bet statement also accused Maman of discussing the possibility of acting as a money courier for others in Israel, locating Russian and American elements for the elimination of Tehran’s opponents in Europe and the U.S. and recruiting Mossad personnel as double agents.
“The Israeli citizen demanded an advance payment of $1 million dollars before performing any action,” police and Shin Bet said. “Iranian agents refused his request and informed him they would contact him in the future.”
Maman allegedly received around $558,000 — paid in euros — for attending the meetings with Iranian intelligence personnel.
Lebanon toll rises after device explosions
The Lebanese Health Ministry said that at least 32 people — including two children — were killed across the country by exploding communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday. More than 3,250 people were injured, it said.
Hezbollah said 20 of its members were killed in Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions. Another 11 were killed in Tuesday’s pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria, bringing the overall death toll for the group to 31.
A source confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for Tuesday’s explosions, in which pagers detonated across Beirut and southern Lebanon. Walkie-talkies exploded on Wednesday.
Israeli forces conduct airstrike on school in Gaza City
Israeli forces conducted an airstrike on what they claim were Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control center embedded inside a school in Gaza City, Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement Wednesday.
Ten people were killed from the strike, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
“A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control center embedded inside a compound that previously served as the ‘Ibn Al-Haytam’ School in the area of Gaza City,” the IDF said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia will not recognize Israel without Palestinian state: Crown Prince
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom would not recognize Israel as a state without a Palestinian state.
“The Palestinian cause is at the forefront of your country’s affairs. We renew the kingdom’s rejection and strong condemnation of the crimes of the Israeli occupation authority against the Palestinian people, ignoring international and humanitarian law in a new and bitter chapter of suffering,” Prince Mohammed said.
“The kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that. We extend our thanks to the countries that have recognized the Palestinian state, in accordance with international legitimacy, and we urge the rest of the countries to take similar steps,” Prince Mohammed said.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia had previously paved the way for normalizing relations with Israel before the eruption of the war in the Gaza Strip last October put those plans on hold.
Fighting in the north moves into ‘new phase,’ Gallant says
Israel has begun a “new phase in the war,” with Israel diverting forces and resources toward northern Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at the air force’s Ramat David base on Wednesday.
“The center of gravity is moving north, the meaning is that we are diverting forces, resources, energy towards the north. We have not forgotten the abductees and we have not forgotten our tasks in the south, this is our duty and we are carrying it out at the same time,” Gallant said.
“It is very important to do things at this stage in close cooperation — between all organizations, at all levels,” Gallant said.
US ‘did not know’ about Israel’s pager operation: Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a press conference in Egypt on Wednesday that the U.S. “did not know about and was not involved” in Israel’s pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria — but said that officials were still gathering information and did not directly blame Israel.
“Broadly speaking, we’ve been very clear, and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza,” Blinken said.
Its spread to other fronts, he added, is “clearly not in the interest of anyone involved.”
Blinken also reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to reaching a cease-fire, which he said would “materially improve the prospects of defusing the situation” on the Israeli-Lebanese border and allow thousands of people living near the area on both sides of the divide to return home.
“That’s clearly the best path forward for everyone involved. So again, it’s imperative that everyone avoid taking steps that could further escalate or spread the conflict,” he said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty was also asked about the matter, and had much more to say. He declared, via a translator, that Egypt was “against any unilateral action that attacks the sovereignty of Lebanon.”
“We have condemned and we will condemn any targeting of the Lebanese sovereignty,” he said. “It does not encourage any civility.”
He continued: “Such dangerous escalation can lead to what we have warned of before, which is leading to the edge of a regional war which can kill everyone.”
The foreign minister also asserted that the “heart of the crisis” facing the Middle East was “Israeli aggression in Gaza.”
Israel moves troops toward Lebanon border
The Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Division will be deployed to the northern part of the country close to the border with Lebanon, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The division was previously active in the Gaza Strip and is being deployed to the north amid rising tensions and ongoing skirmishes between the IDF and the Hezbollah militant group operating from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for Israel’s exploding pager attack that killed at least 12 people and injured at least 2,800 in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday.
Israel behind Lebanon pagers attack, sources confirm
Sources confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.
The pagers began exploding around 3:30 p.m. local time, according to Hezbollah officials. An intelligence source familiar with the situation told ABC News that Israel has long been working to perfect this type of “supply chain interdiction attack.”
At least nine civilians were killed and more than 2,750 injured by the explosions, Lebanese health authorities said.
Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though did not disclose the circumstances of their deaths. The militant group vowed retaliation against Israel.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said four of its soldiers were killed fighting in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Capt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon were killed in combat, the IDF said in a statement.
One officer and two soldiers from the Shaked Battalion, Givati Brigade, were “severely injured” during the same incident, the statement said. Another two soldiers were “moderately injured.”
An officer from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit was also “severely injured” in southern Gaza, the IDF said.
Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’ for pager explosions
In a Wednesday morning statement, the Hezbollah militant group said it would continue operations to “support Gaza” and vowed a “reckoning” for Israel after Tuesday’s “massacre” when more than 2,750 people were injured by exploding pagers in Lebanon.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the operation, which killed at least nine civilians. Eleven Hezbollah members died on Tuesday, the group said, though — as is typical in its statements — did not specify how they died.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to speak on Thursday afternoon to address the situation.
Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in Tuesday’s explosions in Lebanon.
IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in six locations in southern Lebanon into Wednesday. Artillery strikes were also conducted, it added.
Israeli aircraft bombed “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in the areas of Majdal Selm, Odaisseh, Markaba, Blida, Maroun El Ras and Chihine in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.
Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways cancel all flights to Israel
Three major European airlines have canceled all flights to Israel hours after a deadly attack on Hezbollah left at least nine people dead and over 2,700 people injured.
Air France has canceled flights to Tel Aviv for Sept. 18 and 19, according to the flight status board on their website. Lufthansa has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 19 and British Airways has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 27.
Netanyahu undermining security with ‘petty politics,’ political rival alleges
Benny Gantz — the leader of the centrist National Unity coalition — on Tuesday accused rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israeli security “in the most tangible way that I can remember being done by a prime minister during a war, and in general.”
In a public statement — later also published on his X page — Gantz accused the prime minister of “security recklessness” over reports that Netanyahu is preparing to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is a major critic of the prime minister’s approach to cease-fire negotiations in Gaza.
Gantz said the alleged political maneuvering is particularly dangerous ahead of a potential expansion of the conflict in the north of the country, where the Israel Defense Forces has been engaged in cross-border fighting with the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia since Oct. 8.
“Human lives and the future of the nation are at stake,” Gantz said, describing the situation as the “dictionary definition of petty politics, at the expense of national security.”
11,000 students killed in Gaza, education ministry says
The Palestinian Ministry of Education said Tuesday that some 11,000 students have been killed and more than 17,000 others have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s campaign there started on Oct. 7.
The ministry also said 500 schools and universities have been bombed across the territory in almost one year of war.
Islamic Jihad rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said it “eliminated” the head of the Islamic Jihad militia group’s southern rocket and missile unit in a Monday airstrike on a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.
Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was the commander of the Islamic Jihad’s rocket forces in the southern Rafah area, the IDF said in a statement. He was “an important source of knowledge of rocket fire within the Islamic Jihad terror organization in Gaza,” the IDF added.
Al-Hashash was killed while “operating inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis,” the IDF said, referring to one of the areas designated by the Israeli military as safer locations for civilians amid the devastating campaign in Gaza.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.
The IDF often launches strikes inside Gaza humanitarian zones in pursuit of militant leaders.
Gaza Health Ministry identifies more than 34,300 people killed
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry published a 649-page document identifying 34,344 people killed in the strip between Oct.7, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024.
The document includes the name, age, gender and identification number of each person killed.
The first 13 pages of the document include names of people all under 1 year old.
The document only includes the names of those the Health Ministry said it has been able to identify. Thousands more who are a part of the overall death toll are considered missing, the ministry said.
The current death toll in Gaza is 41,226 as of Sept. 16, according to the Hamas-run ministry.
Blinken to travel to Egypt
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week to discuss efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, the State Department said.
Blinken will travel to Egypt Wednesday through Friday to co-chair the opening of the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, the department said.
He will also meet with Egyptian officials “to discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security,” the State Department said in a statement.
State Department doesn’t have timeline on new cease-fire proposal
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller declined to predict when a new Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal proposal might be ready.
“We continue to engage with our partners in the region, most specifically with Egypt and Qatar, about what that proposal will contain, and making sure — or trying to see that it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement,” Miller told reporters Monday.
“I don’t have a timetable for you other than to say that we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal, try to find something that would bring both the parties to say yes and to formally submit it,” Miller added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously said more than a week ago that a proposal would be presented to both Israel and Hamas “in the coming days.”
Miller said Monday that — just like in the negotiations overall — the main hurdles for creating the new proposal were the security situation in the Philadelphi corridor and the number of hostages and Palestinian prisoners that would be released.
‘Trajectory is clear’ at Israel-Lebanon border: Gallant
Time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in an overnight phone call.
“Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas — the trajectory is clear,” Gallant told Austin per a readout from the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Gallant “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the removal of Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon, and to enabling the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” the defense ministry said.
Cross-border fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah — which is aligned with Iran and Hamas through the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — has been near-constant since Oct. 8.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in the north of the country amid the fighting, with Israeli leaders repeatedly threatening a significant military operation to pacify Hezbollah forces operating in southern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Sunday statement that the “current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel now says Houthi missile was hit by interceptor
A missile described by the Houthis as a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” was hit by an Israeli interceptor, Israeli military officials said Sunday, after initially saying it got through its defenses and fell in an open area.
An Israeli interceptor hit the missile fired into central Israel from Yemen, causing it to fragment, according to Israeli officials. The missile was not destroyed, but caused no damage, the Israeli officials said.
“The conclusion into the review of the surface-to-surface missile that was fired this morning is that there was a hit on the target from an interceptor, as a result of which the target fragmented but was not destroyed,” an Israeli military official said in a statement.
The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the missile attack, claiming in a statement that it was aimed at an “important military target” in the Tel Aviv region. The Houthis claimed the missile flew some 1,267 miles in less than 12 minutes and that Israeli anti-missile defenses “failed to intercept” the weapon.
The Israel Defense Forces initially confirmed to ABC News that its defenses failed to intercept the missile but changed its conclusions upon further investigation.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
IDF: ‘High probability’ 3 hostages were killed by Israeli airstrike in November
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces released the results of its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three hostages, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza by IDF forces in December.
The three hostages — two soldiers, Ron Sherman and Nik Beizer, and civilian Elia Toledano — were killed “as a byproduct” of an Israeli airstrike on the compound where they were being held, according to the investigation. The IDF said the strike was targeting a Hamas commander, and that they believed the hostages were being held elsewhere.
“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” the IDF said Sunday in a statement.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Netanyahu vows to inflict ‘high price’ for Houthi missile attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthi movement after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel on Sunday morning.
“This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at our territory,” Netanyahu said before a cabinet meeting. “They should know that we exact a high price for any attempt to attack us.”
“Whoever needs a reminder of this, is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah,” the prime minister added, referring to Israel’s bombing of the strategic Yemeni port in July after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.
“Whoever attacks us will not evade our strike,” Netanyahu said.
Ukraine State Emergency Service/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
(LONDON and KYIV) — Russia on Thursday launched what officials in Kyiv said was an intercontinental ballistic missile toward southeastern Ukraine, but a U.S. official told ABC News that Russia launched “an experimental medium-range ballistic missile against Ukraine” near Dnipro.
The official said the United States briefed Ukraine and other close allies and partners in recent days on Russia’s possible use of this weapon in order to help them prepare. According to the official, Russia likely only possesses “a handful” of these experimental missiles.
Two U.S. officials previously told ABC News it was not an ICBM but instead an intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM.
The launch raises the prospect of nuclear weapons; IRBMs or ICBMs can both be equipped with nuclear warheads. A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that the ballistic missile Russia fired at Dnipro contained MIRVs, or multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, meaning it had multiple warheads that hit the target. MIRV technology is used in ICBMs to use multiple nuclear warheads atop the missile so they can strike multiple targets. The missile used Thursday did not carry nuclear warheads.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in remarks Thursday following the missile launch, said Russia has the right to use its weapons against the military facilities of countries employing their weapons against Russia.
“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against military objects of those countries that allow to use their own weapons against our objects. In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond decisively and in a mirror manner,” Putin said.
Putin said Russia used “one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems” in an attack on Ukraine, adding that it was a “ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic equipment” and that the “test was successful.”
Russia warned the U.S. 30 minutes before the launch of its new “Oreshnik” missile against targets in Dnipro, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news outlet TASS.
The Kremlin announced earlier this week that Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, a move that lowered the bar for Russia to respond with nuclear weapons. Russian ICBMs are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although it appeared the missile fired on Thursday was not equipped with one.
Ukraine’s military was “95% sure” the strike on Thursday was with an ICBM, a Ukrainian official told ABC News, but added that they were still examining the missile parts on the ground and had not yet reached a final conclusion.
“Today it was a new Russian missile. All the parameters: speed, altitude — match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. “All expert evaluations are underway.”
The Ukrainian Air Force announced Thursday morning it had tracked the launch of the ICBM, along with six additional missiles, all of which were targeting the Dnipro region. The ICBM appeared to have been launched from the Astrahan region, in Russia’s southwest, Ukrainian military officials said.
All of the missiles were launched in about two hours, beginning at about 5 a.m. local time, Ukraine said.
All were targeted at businesses and critical infrastructure, but only the missile that Ukraine identified as an ICBM struck the city, Ukraine said. The six other missiles were shot down. There were no reports of casualties or significant damage, officials said.
The U.S. officials said the assessment of the launch, the type of missile and warhead, and the damage in Dnipro was continuing. The distance from what Ukraine said was the launch point to the strike location in Dnipro is about 600 miles, a distance shorter than what an ICBM would be expected to travel.
Two experts told ABC News the projectile, seen in video circulating online, looks likely to be “a ballistic missile with MIRV-ed capabilities.”
The launch of an ICBM, if confirmed as such, would arrive amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could further escalate. This week, Ukraine’s military for the first time launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles toward targets within Russia, days after U.S. President Joe Biden allowed for such use of the long-range weapons.
Putin, in his remarks Thursday, blamed the U.S. for escalating the conflict, saying: “I would like to emphasize once again that it was not Russia, but the United States that destroyed the international security system. And by continuing to fight, cling to their hegemony, they are pushing the whole world into a global conflict.”
Kyiv on Tuesday launched six of the ATACMS at targets within Russian territory, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Zelenskyy said he would not confirm if Ukraine had used ATACMS to conduct a strike on an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of Russia, but said Ukraine has ATACMS and “will use all of these” against Russia.
Within hours of Russia announcing it had struck down five of the ATACMS on Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine.
Following that warning, Ukraine on Wednesday fired long-range British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia for the first time, a Ukrainian military unit involved in the operation told ABC News. At least 10 of those missiles hit an estate in the village of Marino, the unit said.
They were targeting a command post where North Korean army generals and officers were present, the unit said. More than 10,000 North Korean troops are said to be operating alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.
Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion, which helped provide fire control for the strikes, told ABC News that there was intelligence showing high-ranking North Koreans were present.
Zelenskyy cast the Russian strike on Thursday as a result of Russia and its leader being “terrified.”
“Obviously, Putin is terrified when normal life simply exists next to him. When people simply have dignity. When a country simply wants to be and has the right to be independent,” Zelenskyy said. “Putin is doing whatever it takes to prevent his neighbor from breaking free of his grasp.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Yulia Drozd, Natasha Popova, Tanya Stukalova and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (OHAD ZWIGENBERG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Officials in Israel’s defense establishment are now strenuously contradicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel maintain control of the narrow strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi Corridor, and warning that Netanyahu’s reluctance to sign a cease-fire deal with Hamas is pushing Israel into a potentially disastrous war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to Israeli military and senior defense officials who spoke with ABC News.
A war with Hezbollah in Lebanon “is easy to start, but very hard to end,” one such official said, on condition of anonymity. “We are losing the war, we are losing deterrence, we are losing the hostages.”
ABC News, along with other journalists and accompanied by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) personnel, was given access to the Philadelphi Corridor Friday — a narrow strip of territory roughly a half-mile wide that runs along the entirety of the southern Gaza border with Egypt. What were once blocks of apartments there are now piles of rubble amid a wasteland of dunes. Military officials told ABC News their work in the corridor was mostly done.
IDF and other Israeli military officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have called a cease-fire and hostage release deal with Hamas the key to reaching a solution to Israel’s current regional strife. Israel and Hezbollah, which has been launching frequent rocket attacks against northern Israel from Lebanon, have each agreed to the broad parameters of a deal to decrease hostilities, but Hezbollah has said its participation is contingent on Israel reaching a cease-fire deal with Hamas in Gaza — which Hamas says must include all Israeli forces leaving Gaza.
However, many Israeli officials, including several who spoke with ABC News in recent days, believe that Netanyahu is purposely trying to torpedo negotiations to free the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas by insisting that the Philadelphi Corridor remain under Israel’s control, though they did not speak to possible reasons for Netanyahu’s insistence.
“If Philadelphi was so important, why did we wait eight months [into the war] to take it?” one senior Israeli official told ABC News.
Those officials now say that Israel is “stuck” in Gaza, able to kill Hamas militants and yet unable to advance one of the Israel-Hamas war’s primary aims, which Israeli Defense Minister Gallant recently told a small group of reporters was the “moral and ethical commitment” to bring Israel’s remaining hostages home. One official said that given the current circumstances, the best Israel can hope for is the repatriation of perhaps 20-30 hostages out of the 100 or so believed to remain in Gaza.
U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein has been shuttling between Beirut and Jerusalem attempting to broker a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah that would see the latter retreat about 10 kilometers north of their current position in Lebanon, replaced by Lebanese Army forces and personnel from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in exchange for small Israeli concessions along the Israeli-Lebanese border. This is the same deal Israeli officials have said has been on the table since January.
Adding urgency to the current situation are general concerns about whether Israel possesses sufficient munitions and missile and rocket/missile interceptors to defend itself in any confrontation with Hezbollah. One senior Israeli official told ABC News that Israel’s hawks, clamoring for war with Hezbollah, are unaware of how difficult it is for Israel to procure Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) kits, necessary to convert so-called “dumb” bombs into precision guided weapons that use GPS coordinates to strike a target.
Israeli officials are also concerned that Hezbollah’s estimated arsenal of over 100,000 rockets and missiles could cause widespread damage across Israel. Those officials also warn of the potential for destruction on the Lebanese side. For example, during the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war, Israel’s air force crippled Lebanon’s electrical grid and flattened large swaths of south Beirut.
Israel is also contending with how to respond to a recent attack from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, after Israel says it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-surface missile fired at Israel on Sunday.
The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the missile attack, claiming in a statement that it was aimed at an “important military target” in the Tel Aviv region. The Houthis claimed the missile flew some 1,267 miles in less than 12 minutes and that Israeli anti-missile defenses “failed to intercept” the weapon. The IDF initially confirmed to ABC News that its defenses failed to intercept the missile but changed its conclusions upon further investigation.
The Israeli officials who spoke with ABC News said that Israel is vowing retaliation, and is investigating how the Houthis managed to twice penetrate Israel’s air defenses in two months.
“The Houthis are here to stay,” said one official, adding that the assessment is that they will likely keep attacking, regardless of a Hamas ceasefire.
