The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched a drone strike early Monday in northern Israel that Israeli military He said he wounded two Israeli soldiers and started a fire.
The violence came as fears of an all-out regional war increase following the murders last week of a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and The top political leader of Hamas in Iran.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement that it attacked a military base in northern Israel in response to “attacks and assassinations” carried out by Israel in several villages in southern Lebanon.
The attack did not appear to be part of a more intense retaliation expected in response to the killing of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut last week.
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged attacks almost daily over the past 10 months in the context of the war in Gaza, but had previously kept the conflict at a low level that had not escalated into an all-out war.
The assassinations last week of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital Tehran and Hezbollah commander Shukur in Beirut increased tensions in the region. Israel has been preparing for retaliation by Iran and its allied militias.
Gen. Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, threatened Israel on Monday over Haniyeh’s killing, warning that Israel was “digging its own grave” with its actions in its war against Hamas.
“They will see the result of their mistake. You will see when, how and where you will get your answer,” Salami said in a speech.
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JERUSALEM – An Israeli airstrike killed an official in the Hamas-led government in Gaza who Israel said was also involved in militant activities.
Hamas confirmed that Abdel-Fattah al-Zariai was killed along with his mother in an airstrike on Sunday. In a mourning statement, he identified him as undersecretary of his Economy Ministry and said he had held other “honorable positions” without referring to any militant role.
The Israeli military identified him as the economy minister and said he also worked in the manufacturing department of Hamas’s armed wing. He said he was involved in seizing humanitarian aid entering Gaza and distributing it for militant purposes, without providing evidence.
Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 in a week of deadly clashes with forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and dominated by the secular Fatah party.
Hamas established its own government with ministries and tens of thousands of officials providing public services. He also operated a police force.
The government has largely melted down in the war sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, but the militant group still exercises control on the ground.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on Monday after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
General Hossein Salami, speaking to reporters at an event, warned that Israel was “digging its own grave” with its actions in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and that it is suspected of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination.
“When they get hit, they will notice that they are making mistakes. They are making mistakes all the time,” Salami said in his speech at the Journalists Day event. “They will see the result of their mistake. You will see when, how and where you will get your answer.”
Salami also addressed long-standing suspicions about an Israeli assassination program targeting Iran’s nuclear scientists amid concerns about the country’s atomic program. Iran is now enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before, but maintains its program is peaceful. US intelligence services do not believe Iran is actively seeking the bomb, but a nuclear-armed Tehran remains one of Israel’s main fears.
“Israel is the cradle of terrorism and has been created from massacres and assassinations,” he said. “They think they can kill another country’s nuclear scientists and impede that country’s path toward peaceful nuclear technology. “They think that killing the leader of a resistance group… in another country will give them more time to live.”
He added: “They are just digging their own grave.”
BEIRUT – Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike near a cemetery in a southern village killed two people, including a paramedic.
The agency did not provide further details about the Monday morning attack in the village of Meissa al-Jabal. He said one of the dead was a member of the Risala Islamic Scouts Association paramedic group. The group identified the slain member as Mohammed Fawzi Hamadi.
Tensions in the region have risen sharply since last week after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed Fouad Shukur, a top commander of the Hezbollah militant group.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the group will retaliate against Israel.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The Australian government on Monday raised the country’s terror threat alert level from “possible” to “probable,” citing concerns about growing radicalization among youth and community tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas.
It is the first time the threat level has been raised to the midpoint of the five-level National Terrorism Threat Advisory System since November 2022. The level had been “probable” the previous eight years.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added that while government officials believe the current climate makes terrorism a greater danger, they were not aware of any specific threat.
“I want to reassure Australians that probable does not mean inevitable, and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger,” Albanese told reporters.
He said the government was acting on advice from the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s main domestic spy agency known as ASIO.
“The advice we have received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant,” Mr Albanese said.
TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, as the United States and its allies prepared to defend Israel. of an expected counterattack and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.
Tensions have soared after nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the assassination last week of a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has started talks about electing a new leader.
Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of his diplomatic efforts (“We want the escalation to end,” said Ayman Safadi), while the Pentagon has moved major assets to the region.
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