Israel-Iran news: Fears of wider war mount [Video]

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip –

Israel pressed forward on two fronts Wednesday, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah that left eight Israeli soldiers dead and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children. As Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack a day earlier, the region braced for further escalation.

Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and the Hamas militants who run the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, launched dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday night, a sharp escalation that pushed the Middle East closer toward a regional war. Israel warned that the attack would have “repercussions.”

The Israeli military said seven soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in southern Lebanon, without elaborating. Those deaths followed an earlier announcement of the first Israeli combat death in Lebanon since the start of the incursion — a 22-year-old captain in a commando brigade. Another seven troops were wounded.

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