Middle East latest: Hezbollah fires rockets into central Israel

Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens in the country's most populated areas but causing no apparent damage or injuries, a few hours before U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in the region on a mission to restart stalled Gaza ceasefire talks.

The Israeli military said five projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel and said most were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system. One landed in an open area.

The rocket fire came as Israel stepped up its strikes in Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah-run financial institution, and as the U.S. pushed to resume cease-fire talks in Gaza following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annihilate Hamas and recover dozens of hostages held by the group. Hamas says it will only release the captives in return for a lasting cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel's security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

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Here's the latest:

Death toll from strike near Beirut hospital rises to 13

The death toll from an Israeli airstrikes late Monday that destroyed several buildings facing one of Beirut’s main hospitals climbed to 13. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 57 others were wounded in the strikes, including seven who were in critical condition.

It said the airstrikes caused significant damage to the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the country’s largest public hospital, located on the outskirts of southern Beirut. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

State department source says progress on day-after plan is key to US hopes for ceasefire

TEL AVIV, Israel — The U.S. is making an 11th-hour effort to resuscitate some aspects of the halted cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas weeks before the presidential election and as Israel’s invasion of neighboring Lebanon intensifies, according to a senior State Department official.

Since negotiations fell apart over the summer, Americans have shifted to focus on a post-war plan for Israel and Gaza. The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity late Monday to preview Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s strategy, said that stakeholders have reached consensus on some aspects of the so-called day-after plan and that the U.S. is hopeful that this progress will create goodwill to get parties back to the table on a ceasefire.

The source added that the decision to go to Israel before meeting with Arab partners was a shift in the U.S.'s negotiation strategy.

The U.S. has long pushed for a postwar settlement in which a reformed Palestinian Authority would govern Gaza with help from Arab states and Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel.

But Arab leaders insist such plans would depend on a pathway to Palestinian statehood, something to which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deeply opposed. He has ruled out any postwar role for the PA and says local Palestinians will administer Gaza, with Israel maintaining open-ended security control.

Blinken also planned to reiterate concerns about the humanitarian aid crisis in Gaza outlined that U.S. officials laid out in a recent letter to Israel, the official said.

But official said that an anticipated Israeli retaliation against Iran is looming over the meeting, which will likely be the last time Blinken and Netanyahu meet before the U.S. presidential election.

— By Farnoush Amiri

Blinken arrives in Israel on mission to restart ceasefire talks

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, as the U.S. hopes to revive cease-fire efforts after the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials. Following Israel, he’s expected to visit a number of Arab countries, likely to include Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

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Iran keeps up pressure as Israeli retaliation looms

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran kept up pressure Tuesday on Israel as Jerusalem is expected to launch a threatened retaliatory strike on the Islamic Republic, insisting Tehran’s neighbors wouldn’t allow their territory to be used for such an assault and that it would strike back just as hard.

The comments from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi come as speculation grows over how Israel will retaliate for Tehran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Speaking in Kuwait as part of a Mideast tour, Araghchi insisted that Gulf Arab neighbors he’s spoken to wouldn’t allow their territory to be used.

“All the neighbors assured us that they will not allow their lands and air to be used against Iran,” Araghchi said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. “This is an expectation from all friendly and neighboring countries and we consider this a sign of friendship.”

However, many Gulf Arab nations host major U.S. military installations, like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as a hedge against any possible attack by Iran. Washington also has based aircraft carriers around the region as tensions have persisted in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent wars raging across the Mideast.

Gulf Arab nations have not made any public pledges like those described by Araghchi.

There have been tensions in the Persian Gulf and among Gulf Arab countries since Tehran launched a series of attacks targeting shipping in the region in 2019 over the U.S.'s unilateral withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers as well.

Separately, Pezeshkian warned that Israel will face a “corresponding answer” for any attack it carries out.

Another Israeli strike hits Lebanon-Syria border crossing

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency says another Israeli airstrike has targeted the country’s main border crossing with Syria, leaving a second large crater on the highway running through it.

The National News Agency reported that the early Tuesday airstrike was closer to the Syrian side of the crossing, known as Jdeidet Yabous. Syrian TV also reported an airstrike in the border area.

An Israeli airstrike on Oct. 5 blocked a highway and left a giant crater near the Lebanese side of the crossing, known as Masnaa, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Beirut.

That strike prevented vehicles from going through the crossing, which tens of thousands of people have used to flee to Syria.

People now have to walk by foot in or around the two large craters several kilometers (miles) away.

The Israeli military has accused the Hezbollah militant group of using the Masnaa crossing to truck in military equipment from Syria. There was no immediate comment on the latest strike.

Hezbollah fires rockets into central Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel — Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas but causing no apparent damage or injuries.

The Israeli military said five projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel and said most were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system. One landed in an open area.

Israeli police said there were no reports of damage or injury following the salvo.

The Israeli military said that at the same time, about 15 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Earlier Tuesday, air raid sirens went off in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after a rocket was launched from Lebanon, the Israeli military said. Damage was caused to homes in the Palestinian village of Shuqba.

The rocket fire came as Israel stepped up its strikes in Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah-run financial institution, and as Israeli troops push ahead in their invasion of southern Lebanon.