Middle East Conflict: 1 Killed, 8 Injured In Lebanon Rocket Barrage Toward Israel

Israeli warplanes strike Hezbollah assets, including Radwan targets

Israeli fighter jets "recently attacked" several Hezbollah targets in the following areas in Lebanon: Adashit, Alzuana, Jabal al Brij, Hona and Dunin, the IDF said Wednesday local time. The strikes were carried out in response to "ongoing rocket fire" toward northern Israel, the IDF added.

Some of the targeted assets belonged to the Radwan Forces, an elite special operations unit of the heavily armed terror group.

4 killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon: Report

Four people were killed and nearly a dozen were wounded in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing two Lebanese security sources.

A woman and her two children were among the casualties in an Israeli strike in al-Sawana village, the sources said. The fourth casualty was a member of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group that has been launching rockets toward Israel since the Israel-Hamas war started.

This comes after a rocket barrage from Lebanon killed one woman and injured eight others in northern Israel earlier in the day.

Israeli jets flying over Beirut: Arab media

Israeli warplanes are flying at "low altitude" over Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, Sky News Arabia reported Wednesday local time.

The report comes after the Israeli army announced it has started conducting strikes in Lebanese territory following a deadly rocket barrage from Lebanon toward Safed, northern Israel earlier in the day.

Hamas delegation heads to Cairo

A Hamas delegation is headed to Egypt to discuss a proposed ceasefire deal after Israeli negotiators left Cairo Tuesday without a breakthrough in the discussions with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

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Protesters block traffic at Nitzana crossing

A group of protesters blocked the Nitzana crossing Wednesday morning, in a bid to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip as they demand that aid be prohibited until the remaining hostages are freed.

"If we continue to feed Hamas, more soldiers will fall and the kidnapped will remain there," Nega Alfasi told Israel's national broadcaster Kan.

Netanyahu blocks Israeli delegation's return to Cairo: Report

The Israeli prime minister has not allowed an Israeli delegation to return to Egypt for follow-up ceasefire talks Thursday, local Walla reported Wednesday.

Netanyahu said there was "no point" in efforts to achieve progress in the negotiations until Hamas agrees to soften its demand on the number of prisoners it wants released as part of a truce agreement, as per the report.

US strikes Houthi missile in Yemen

U.S. forces with the Central Command (CENTCOM) on Tuesday afternoon Yemeni time struck a mobile anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

As with earlier strikes on Houthi weapons, the strike was conducted in self-defense, CENTCOM said, as the missile was prepared to launch toward vessels in the Red Sea.

1 killed, 8 others wounded in rocket barrage from Lebanon

One woman was killed and eight others were wounded after a rocket attack from Lebanese territory hit a building in Safed, northern Israel on Wednesday morning, multiple local outlets reported.

Some rockets from the barrage hit the IDF's Northern Command headquarters in Safed, The Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli army.

There has been no immediate claim for the rocket barrage, but Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been launching rockets and missiles toward northern Israel since the war started. It is believed that the terror group carried out the attack.

Israeli warplanes conduct strikes in Lebanese territory: IDF

Israeli fighter jets have started "an extensive wave of attacks" in Lebanese territory, the IDF announced on X Wednesday, as per a Google translation.

The Israeli army said it will provide further details about the attacks later.

This comes after Nasrallah claimed that eight IDF sites and assets were attacked by Hezbollah in the last day.

Explosions reported in Iranian natural gas pipeline

A natural gas pipeline running from Iran's western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province to cities in the Caspian Sea was struck by explosions early Wednesday, the Associated Press Reported.

Saeed Aghli, the manager of Iran's gas network control center, told Iranian state television that the explosions along several parts of the line were caused by a "sabotage and terrorist action," as per the report.

A subsequent fire occurred after an explosion in the gas pipeline, as per Iranian media. No casualties were reported so far from the blast and rescue teams have been dispatched to the scene.

Aghli did not identify any suspects in the supposed terror attack, but tensions in the Middle East as driven by the war in Gaza have also drawn attacks toward Iran. Earlier last month, at least 84 people were killed in twin blasts during the remembrance ceremony for Revolutionary Guards general Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. strike in Baghdad in 2020.

IDF publishes footage of Hamas' Gaza leader's supposed escape through tunnel

The IDF on Tuesday released a video showing what it said was footage of Sinwar's escape through a tunnel in the Gaza Strip.

The video shows a group of people moving through a tunnel. The first man was identified by the Israeli army as Sinwar's brother. One woman then followed, while three children walked behind her. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, head of the IDF's Spokesperson's Unit, identified the woman as "one of" Sinwar's wives and the three kids as the Hamas Gaza leader's children.

Finally, another man, identified by the IDF as Sinwar himself, is seen walking behind the children, carrying a bag.

"While the people of Gaza are suffering above ground, Sinwar is hiding in tunnels underground, underneath them, running like the coward that he is," Hagari said.

International Business Times cannot independently verify that the man in the video is indeed Sinwar, or provide information regarding the date when the footage was recorded.

Iran will retaliate if its ships are attacked: IRGC chief

Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Tuesday warned that the IRGC will target enemy ships if its vessels are attacked.

His warning came after the U.S. military said Yemeni Houthis, a Hamas ally and Iranian-backed terror group, attacked Greek-owned cargo ship MV Star Iris, which was transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Brazil on Monday and was en route to Iran. The Houthi rebel militia confirmed it attacked the Star Iris with naval missiles but referred to the merchant vessel as an "American ship."

US reviewing reports Israel harmed civilians in Gaza: State Department

Washington is looking into reports that Israel harmed civilians in its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday.

The review is being implemented under the State Department's Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance (CHIRG) to ensure countries receiving American arms conduct their military operations in line with international humanitarian law, Miller said.

While he did not specify how many reports the department was reviewing in relation to the Gaza war, a source familiar with the process said the department was looking into at least 50 reported incidents.

No Red Sea maritime alerts for 24 hours: UKMTO

There were no maritime security alerts from Monday night through Tuesday night, marking the first time in recent weeks that the UKMTO did not issue any maritime security warnings for a 24-hour period.

The Red Sea calm comes following near-daily disruptions by Houthis in the area that has had an impact on commercial shipping activities.

Truce talks in Egypt end without breakthrough

Talks for a proposed truce agreement in Cairo regarding the war in Gaza ended Tuesday without a breakthrough, even as the loved ones of remaining hostages in Gaza pile pressure on Israel and the international community to push Hamas to free the abductees.

Key mediators Egypt and Qatar were joined by negotiators from the U.S. and Israel during Tuesday's discussions.

Hezbollah says it attacked 8 IDF sites and assets

Following Nasrallah's speech wherein the Hezbollah leader vowed continuing attacks against Israel, the Iran-backed terror group said it attacked eight sites and assetsof the Israeli army in the last day.

Among the sites targeted were an IDF site in the Shebaa Farms that the militia calls Ruwaisat Al-Alam, and an Israeli army site that the Hezbollah calls Mitat barracks. Nasrallah said the attack on Mitat barracks resulted in IDF soldiers "being killed or wounded."

The IDF has yet to deny or confirm the said claims.

Hezbollah chief says fight against Israel will continue

Nasrallah in a speech Tuesday said that Iran-backed Hezbollah is "committed to fighting Israel until it is off the map," as per a translation by Haaretz.

He also said the Lebanon-based terror group believes Israel will "leave the battle defeated" and Hezbollah will not agree to a de-escalation agreement with Israel until a ceasefire deal is reached in war-torn Gaza.

His comments come amid a spike in attacks toward northern Israel by the militant group, which is a much larger organization than Hamas.

US base attacked by missiles: Iranian, Russian media

An American base in eastern Syria was attacked by missiles Wednesday, Iranian media reported.

Details are scarce about the said attack, but state-owned Sputnik reported, citing a local Syrian source, that the said U.S. base which is located in oil and gas fields was "attacked three times" in less than an hour.

The U.S. army has yet to confirm or deny the alleged missile attack.