DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched ground operations and carried out airstrikes in a hard-hit city in southern Gaza overnight, killing at least 51 people, including women and children, Palestinian medical officials said Wednesday. Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war in the Palestinian territory, and even as attention has shifted to Lebanon and Iran.
Israeli ground troops have carried out incursions into Lebanon against Hezbollah, and Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles on Israel late Tuesday. Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in the Lebanese border town of Odaisseh, forcing the troops to retreat. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or independent confirmation of the fighting, which would mark the first ground combat since Israeli troops crossed the border this week.
Israeli media reported infantry and tank units operating in southern Lebanon after the military sent thousands of additional troops and artillery to the border. The military has warned people in around 50 villages and towns to evacuate. Hundreds of thousands have already fled their homes as the conflict has intensified.
The ground operations in Lebanon have raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel. Hezbollah, widely seen as the mo.
