Rocket fire from Lebanon kills 5 in biggest attack on northern Israel since invasion

JERUSALEM – Rocket fire from Lebanon killed five people in northern Israel on Thursday, including four foreign workers, in the deadliest attack since Israel invaded earlier this month.

The Hezbollah militant group fires rockets, drones and rockets at Israel and retaliates after a Hamas attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023 that sparked the war there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies supported by Iran.

The conflict along the border escalated into full-scale war last month, when Israel launched a wave of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and most of his deputies. Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon in early October.

Metula Regional Council reported the attack on Thursday without specifying the number or type of projectiles used. The nationality of the workers was also not immediately known.

Metula, Israel’s northernmost city, which is surrounded on three sides by Lebanon, was severely damaged by rockets. Residents of the city were evacuated in October 2023, only security forces and agricultural workers remained.

The attack occurred during the stay of high-ranking US diplomats in the region achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gazahoping to end the wars in the Middle East in the final months of the Biden administration. Brokers are circulating new roll-up offers regional conflict.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military warned people to evacuate other parts of southern Lebanon as airstrikes across the country killed at least eight people.

Also on Thursday, Palestinian officials said that three people were killed during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that two Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike and a third by Israeli gunfire.

The Israeli military said its forces attacked militants in the area Nur Shams refugee campwhich has seen repeated battles in recent months. The military said it had eliminated a Hamas militant who was involved in planning attacks on Israelis.

Also on Thursday, Israeli police said they had arrested a couple accused of spying on Israeli intelligence sites and gathering information about an Israeli scientist on behalf of Iran.

Hezbollah newly appointed leader Naim Kasemthe militant group said keep fighting your war with Israel until he is offered terms of a cease-fire that he deems acceptable.

About 1.2 million people were displaced conflict in Lebanonaccording to government estimates. Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 2,800 people had been killed and 12,900 wounded since Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023, prompting retaliation. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October.

The number of dead from more than a year with Israel-Hamas war Palestinian officials said Monday that the death toll in Gaza exceeded 43,000, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants. The war began after Hamas-led militants invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and kidnapping 250 others.

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Frankel reported from Jerusalem.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war