Fears of wider war in Middle East grow as Israel and Iran trade threats

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate against Iran

Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Yaron during Israeli bombardment on October 2. Pic/AFP

The Middle East moved closer to a long-feared regional war on Wednesday, a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel and Israel said it began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles, and officials in Washington said US destroyers assisted in Israel's defence. Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets. There have been no reports of casualties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate against Iran, which he said "made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it". An Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel retaliates.

The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the spiralling conflict.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage.

Israel declared war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Here is the latest: US sanctions Iranian man and Chinese firms accused of helping Houthis WASHINGTON - The US has imposed sanctions on an Iranian man and three Chinese firms that Washington believes helped the Houthi militant group acquire materials needed to manufacture and deploy advanced missiles and drones against the US and its allies.

Iranian citizen Hasan Ahmad Hasan Muhammad al-Kuhlani is named in the sanctions announced on Wednesday. He is accused of facilitating weapons smuggling for the Houthis.

Treasury's Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith says the Houthis "continue to leverage their networks of companies and procurement operatives to sustain their reckless attacks on civilian vessels, their unarmed crews, and civilian populations".

UN chief demands an end to the escalating violence in the Middle East UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations chief is demanding a halt to the escalation of "tit-for-tat violence" that he warned is leading people in the Middle East "straight over the cliff".

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday that in just a week the alarming situation in Lebanon has gone from bad "to much, much worse".

"It is absolutely essential to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon, which would have profound and devastating consequences," he said.

Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday's Iranian missile attack against Israel. He also criticized attacks against Israel by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon, and he lambasted Israel for the "most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general" - referring to the conflict in Gaza in response to Hamas' October 7 attacks.

"It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza," he said. "It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. … It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff." Israel says 7 soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon JERUSALEM - The Israeli military says seven soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon.

The deaths were announced Wednesday, a day after Israel said it had launched a ground incursion across its northern border.

Fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants is ongoing in southern Lebanon, both sides said in separate statements.

The news comes as Israel sends more troops and artillery to the border area.

Israel eases restrictions on public gatherings near the Lebanese border JERUSALEM - Israel has eased restrictions on gatherings for its residents living in the country's north near the Lebanese border.

The Home Front Command said up to 50 residents can gather in outside spaces in northern Galilee and the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Gatherings of up to 250 people are allowed in closed spaces.

In the coastal Haifa area, outside gatherings of up to 60 people are allowed, it said Wednesday.

Limits on gatherings were imposed because of near-daily fire by Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group into northern Israel, where evacuation orders for Lebanese living closest to the border remain in place.

Russia and China urge restraint in the Middle East MOSCOW - The Kremlin says the situation in the Middle East is developing into the "most alarming scenario" and has called for restraint.

"We urge all sides to show restraint against the backdrop of the ongoing events, and of course, we condemn any actions that lead to the deaths of civilians," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also urged both sides to exercise restraint.

"All parties involved should abandon provocative actions and show restraint and a responsible approach in line with the well-known decisions of the United Nations and its Security Council," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news conference.

In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry said it "opposes the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and oppose moves that fuel antagonism and escalate tensions".

It didn't single out any country by name.

"China calls on the international community, especially major countries with influence, to play a constructive role and avoid further turmoil," the statement said. "China believes that the protracted fighting in Gaza is the root cause of this round of turmoil in the Middle East, and all parties need to work urgently for a comprehensive and lasting cease-fire." Hezbollah says it killed and wounded Israeli soldiers in Lebanon clashes BEIRUT - The Lebanese militant Hezbollah group says its fighters killed and wounded an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers in clashes in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said they detonated an explosive device as Israeli troops tried to cross deeper into Lebanon toward the southern village of Yaroun on Wednesday.

Hezbollah did not provide a breakdown of the alleged Israeli casualties and there was no immediate reaction from the Israeli military, which earlier announced the death of a soldier - the first to be killed in the ground incursion.

Germany criticises Israel for barring UN chief from entering the country BERLIN - Germany says Israel's decision to bar UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country is unhelpful.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, said he was declaring Guterres "persona non grata", deepening an already wide rift with the United Nations.

German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sebastian Fischer acknowledged those tensions and said "this step isn't particularly helpful, because in the end more talks are needed and not fewer talks". Germany is a staunch ally of Israel.

He said "we shouldn't deprive ourselves of channels of dialogue that could possibly contribute to bringing about a solution".

Also on Wednesday, Iran's charge d'affaires in Berlin was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry, where German officials condemned Iran's missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday and demanded that Tehran and its allies refrain from further attacks.

Neighbouring Austria also summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Vienna to its Foreign Ministry.

Israeli military announces its first combat death in Lebanon incursions JERUSALEM - The Israeli military has announced its first combat death since launching ground operations in Lebanon this week.

The military said on Wednesday that Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, a 22-year-old in a commando brigade, was killed in combat in Lebanon.

The military didn't immediately provide other details.

Lebanese army says Israeli troops carried out a brief incursion into Lebanon BEIRUT - The Lebanese army says Israeli forces breached approximately 400 meters (yards) into Lebanese territory on Wednesday and then withdrew "after a short period".

The statement was the first official acknowledgement from Beirut that Israeli forces are carrying out a ground incursion into Lebanon.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that ground forces backed by air power killed militants in "close-range engagements", without saying where.

Earlier Wednesday, Hezbollah's chief spokesman, Mohammed Afif, told reporters touring sites of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs that Hezbollah "fought a heroic battle this morning" in the southern villages of Odaisseh and Maroun al-Ras against Israeli soldiers who launched a ground incursion into Lebanon.

Afif promised the destroyed areas would be rebuild "better and more beautiful than they were before" - echoing what former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week, said in 2006, when the militant group fought a monthlong war with Israel.

Israel's foreign minister bars the UN chief from entering Israel JERUSALEM - Israel's foreign minister says he is barring the United Nations secretary-general from entering Israel, accusing him of being biased against the country.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that he was declaring Antonio Guterres "persona non grata" and that he would be prevented from entering Israel.

The move deepens an already wide rift between Israel and the United Nations.

Israeli police say 7 people died in Tuesday's shooting attack in Tel Aviv TEL AVIV, Israel - Israeli police says seven people were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv minutes before the Iranian missile barrage.

Two Palestinian men from the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron opened fire Tuesday evening in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a station.

Police say the two had no prior arrests though one was accused of disturbing the peace at a demonstration. They were shot and killed by security guards and armed pedestrians.

Police and paramedics treated another 16 people injured in the shooting as air raid sirens blared across the country.

On Wednesday, locals left flowers and candles at the train stop, where bullet holes peppered the signs and benches.

Maya Brandwine, a 33-year-old resident of the neighbourhood, said she was at a coffee shop on the street when the shooting broke out. During the subsequent Iranian missile attack, she took cover in a bomb shelter with police carrying out sweeps for additional suspects.

"It's a nightmare, and we're starting to get used to it," she said, blaming the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the violence.

A Greek man among 7 people killed in the shooting attack in Tel Aviv ATHENS - Greece's foreign ministry says a Greek national was among the people killed in Tuesday evening's shooting attack in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel Aviv.

A ministry statement Wednesday said the man, whom it did not name, was a resident of Jerusalem.

The ministry condemned what it called a "terrorist" attack and expressed the "deepest sorrow" at the death of the Greek national.

Israeli police said on Wednesday a total of seven people were killed in the shooting, including a woman in her 30s who was carrying her 9-month-old in a baby sling as they were walking their dog.

Police said they had arrested people in the West Bank overnight who assisted with the procurement and transfer of the weapon.

Death toll climbs to 51 in an Israeli military operation in southern Gaza, health officials say KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Gaza's Health Ministry has raised the death toll to 51, with at least 82 people wounded, in a large Israeli air and ground operation in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israel's military has yet to comment on the operation, which began early Wednesday. Palestinian residents say ground forces pushed into three neighbourhoods. Records at the European Hospital in Khan Younis show that seven women and 12 children, as young as 22 months old, were among those killed.

Another 23 people, including two children, were killed in separate strikes across Gaza, according to local hospitals.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Residents said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighborhoods in Khan Younis. Mahmoud al-Razd, a resident who said four relatives were killed in the raids, described heavy destruction and said first responders had struggled to reach destroyed homes.

Iran's supreme leader slams US and European presence in the Mideast in his first remarks since Tehran's missile attack on Israel TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed the presence of American and European nations in the Middle East in his first remarks since Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel.

Khamenei said on Wednesday that their presence is a source of "conflicts, wars, concerns and enmities" but made no mention of the missile attack the night before.

"Regional nations can manage themselves and ... they will live together in peace," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

He said Iran is hopeful of getting "rid of the enemies' evil" and also urged Western nations to "cut their badness".

Iran has long seen the US troop presence on its doorstep as a threat and demanded their evacuation from neighbouring Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

The Israeli military warns Lebanese to evacuate 24 villages in the south JERUSALEM - The Israeli military has warned people to evacuate another 24 villages across southern Lebanon.

The warning on Wednesday came days after the military launched what it said were limited ground operations near the border to combat the Hezbollah militant group.

The villages are in a UN-declared buffer zone established after Israel and Hezbollah fought their last war in 2006.

Spain will send 2 military planes to evacuate 350 Spanish citizens from Lebanon MADRID - Spain's Defence Minister Margarita Robles says that her government will send two military planes to evacuate 350 Spanish citizens from Lebanon.

Robles said the planes will depart Spain on Thursday "if conditions in the airspace allow it".

The announcement came a day after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares urged Spaniards in Lebanon to leave the country and for Israel to stop its assault.

Spain also has 676 soldiers in Lebanon deployed under a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Macron says France is committed to Israel's protection PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated France's commitment to Israel's protection and said Paris has "mobilised its military resources in the Middle East to counter the Iranian threat", according to a statement from the French presidency on Wednesday.

French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet would not comment on military resources deployed after Iran has fired a barrage of missiles at Israel Tuesday. In April, France said its forces in the Middle East have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones targeting Israel.

Macron condemned Iran's attack on Israel "in the strongest terms" and called on all countries involved in "the dangerous escalation of tensions" in the Middle East "to show the greatest restraint".

He reiterated France's demand that "Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population", according to the statement.

The French president also called on Israel "to end its military operations (in Lebanon) as soon as possible" because "too many civilians have already become victims".

He said he hoped that Lebanon's "sovereignty and territorial integrity" would be restored after Israel's military operations "in strict compliance" with the United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

Iran's foreign minister claims the ballistic missile attack on Israel was an act of self-defence TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister has described his nation's ballistic missile attack on Israel as self-defence.

Abbas Araghchi made the comments in a television interview on Wednesday in Tehran.

"We sent a message to the American side through the Swiss Embassy suggesting them not to get involved in the story," Araghchi said. "We will confront and answer any third party that enters any operation against us in support of the Zionist regime and we will have a crushing response." He also reiterated that Iran's response to Israel will be "harsher" if Israel attacks Iran in response.

South Korea to send military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from conflict areas in the Middle East SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea plans to send military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from conflict areas in the Middle East as he called a meeting to discuss the impact of intensified fighting in the region, President Yoon Suk Yeol said.

Yoon's government on Wednesday didn't immediately provide more details about its evacuation plan, including how and when it would be carried out or the possible number of Koreans who could be flown home.

There are reportedly about 480 South Korean nationals living in Israel, 130 in Lebanon and 110 in Iran. There's increasing concern about a broader regional war in the Middle East after Iran on Tuesday fired a barrage of missiles at Israel and Israel began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

During the government meeting in Seoul, Yoon instructed officials to operate a 24-hour monitoring system to track the Mideast developments and assess the impact on South Korea's security and economy, including possible affects on energy supplies, trade logistics and supply chains.

Germany's chancellor calls on Iran and Hezbollah to stop their attacks on Israel BERLIN - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling on Iran and Hezbollah to stop their attacks on Israel and says Tehran is risking a wider regional conflagration.

Scholz issued a statement on Wednesday strongly condemning Iran's missile barrage against Israel the previous evening. He said that "with this, Iran is risking setting the whole region on fire - that must be prevented under all circumstances. Hezbollah and Iran must cease their attacks on Israel immediately".

The chancellor added that Germany will continue to push for a cease-fire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, which he said must lead toward full implementation of a UN Security Council resolution that calls for Hezbollah to withdraw from the area near the Israeli border.

Scholz said that would "clear the way for people to return to the north of Israel and at the same time open a prospect of consolidating Lebanon's statehood".

Israeli airstrikes on southern Gaza kill 32 people, Palestinian medics say KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - At least 32 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Gaza overnight and into Wednesday, Palestinian medical officials said.

The European Hospital in the hard-hit city of Khan Younis said it received the bodies after heavy Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the city. It said the dead include several women and children, and that dozens of people were wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas' October 7 attack ignited the war there, even as attention has shifted to Lebanon, where Israel is battling Hezbollah, and to Iran, which launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel late Tuesday.

Dr. Saleh al-Hams, head of the nursing department at the European Hospital, said dozens of dead and wounded people were brought to his facility and the Nasser Hospital starting at around 3 a.m. Some of the wounded were in critical condition, meaning the death toll could rise, he said.

He said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighbourhoods in Khan Younis. Israel carried out a massive offensive earlier this year that left large parts of the city in ruins.

Denmark police report 2 explosions overnight near Israeli Embassy COPENHAGEN - Police in Denmark said two explosions took place overnight in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen. In a post on X, the police said no one had been injured and an investigation was underway.

Police had cordoned off the area while police with search dogs and forensic teams were inspecting the area.

Addressing local media on Wednesday morning, police refused to give details about the intensity of the reported blasts or the damage they may have caused, and said it was too early to say if the explosion was aimed at the embassy.

On Tuesday night, the area around the Israel embassy in Stockholm was also closed off after a loud bang was reported. Police later announced that findings from the scene indicated that the embassy was hit by bullets, according to the TT news agency.

UK helped Israel repel Iranian missiles LONDON - The UK defence chief said Britain's military helped Israel repel a missile attack from Iran.

Writing on X, Defence Secretary John Healey said British forces "played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East".

He did not give details of UK involvement.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK supports Israel's right to self defence, stating that "Iran has menaced the Middle East for far too long".

In a televised statement after the missile attack on Tuesday night, Starmer said Iran's missile attack had left the region "on the brink" and he was "deeply concerned about the risk of miscalculation".

Starmer said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday as part of efforts to prevent a wider conflict. Starmer's office said he was on the phone with Netanyahu when the Iranian attack began.

UN says main Yemeni ports operational after Israeli airstrikes but power stations damaged UNITED NATIONS - Yemen's two main ports remain operational following Israeli airstrikes, but the strikes damaged power stations, the United Nations says.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen went to assess the situation at Yemen's main port of Hodeida and nearby port of Ras Isa following Sunday's Israeli strikes targeting sites used by Houthi rebels in the ports in western Yemen.

Israel said it was retaliating for a Houthi missile fired at central Israel on Saturday which was shot down. The Houthis said it was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plane had just arrived from New York where he addressed the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations.

Dujarric said the UN's humanitarian partners reported Tuesday that "after conducting an initial assessment, both ports remain operational and able to receive commercial and humanitarian supplies".

"Power stations throughout Hodeida city are, however, running at a very limited capacity," the UN spokesman said.

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