Israel-Iran news: Threats swapped amid strikes in Gaza [Video]

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip –

Israel said Wednesday that seven of its solders were killed in southern Lebanon as troops battle Hezbollah militants on the ground after the start of an Israeli incursion into that country. The region braced for further escalation as Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack a day earlier.

The soldiers were killed in two separate events, military officials said.

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• IN PICTURES: Destruction in Lebanon after Israeli offensive

In Gaza, where the nearly yearlong war that triggered the widening conflict rages on with no end in sight, Israeli ground and air operations in a hard-hit city killed at least 51 people, including women and children, Palestinian medical officials said.

Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war.

The escalation on multiple fronts has raised fears of …