The Middle East moved closer to a long-feared regional war the 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 U.S.
destroyers assisted in Israel's defense. Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets. There were no immediate 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 against Iran's territory. The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas sent fighters into Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. It's been almost a year since some 250 people were abducted from Israel, and friends and family are worried about their loved ones as attention turns away from hostages and north toward Lebanon.
Here is the latest: BEIJING — China’s official Xinhua news agency said 146 Chinese nationals and five members of their families arrived in Beijing on Wednesday after being evacuated from Lebanon on a charter flight. The report said that all Chinese citizens who wanted to evacuate have left the countr.
