Deadly battles in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops clash with Hezbollah

Israeli and Hezbollah troops clashed at close range in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed a military response to Iran for firing ballistic missiles at his country in an attack that has further set the region on edge.

Israel also kept up its bombing campaign. Three massive explosions were heard in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, around midnight Wednesday, shortly after the Israeli military announced that it was conducting what it called “a precise strike” there. One local news outlet posted a video of explosions lighting up the sky. The blasts were loud enough to be heard 15 miles away in the mountains above the city.

Israel said eight of its soldiers had been killed in the first day and a half of combat in Lebanon, a relatively high toll compared with the daily losses the military has taken in the war in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military gave no details of how its soldiers had died, but had earlier said they were engaged in close quarters combat.

The escalating fighting in Lebanon came as the Middle East remained anxious after Iran’s missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday. Though the roughly 200 missiles were mostly intercepted by Israel’s air defenses with the help of the United States and other allies, Netanyahu said that Iran, a longtime adversary, had “made a big mistake” and would “pay for it.”

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he would not support an attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear sites, telling reporters that he and other leaders of the Group of 7 major industrialized nations supported Israel’s right to respond to Iran’s missile attack Tuesday, but believed that the response must be proportional. He said the G7 leaders had agreed to impose additional sanctions on Iran.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday’s hourlong assault was retribution for the recent assassinations of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, another of its proxies that is fighting Israel in Gaza. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s top military officer, said the missiles had been aimed at three military bases and the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence service.

Video verified by The New York Times showed dozens of missiles exploding in different parts of Israel on Tuesday, including about a quarter-mile from the Mossad headquarters. Israel’s military said an air force base had sustained “a few hits,” but that essential infrastructure had been spared. Photos showed damage elsewhere, including to a school in southern Israel and buildings in Tel Aviv.

The barrage of Iranian missiles came a day after Israeli ground forces pushed into parts of southern Lebanon in an invasion the military said aimed to eliminate Hezbollah’s ability to attack Israel.

Here is what else to know:

— Shooting in Tel Aviv: Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for a Tuesday shooting on a light rail train in Tel Aviv that left seven people dead. The group said the two shooters stabbed a soldier and took his gun for the attack.

— Recriminations at the U.N.: During a Wednesday meeting of the United Nations Security Council, ambassadors from Iran and Israel came face to face, accusing each other’s countries of being “terrorist states.” Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador, said Iran must pay a heavy price for carrying out the largest missile attack on Israel in its history, and Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran’s ambassador, warned that Iran would not hesitate to take further military action against Israel if attacked.

— Israel bars U.N. leader: Israel has barred U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, criticizing him for failing to forcefully condemn Iran’s latest missile attack. Guterres addressed an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that was convened to discuss Iran’s attacks and how to prevent a wider war.

— Consensus on striking Iran: While Israel and Iran have avoided a direct conflict for years, the two countries seem prepared to risk a direct, prolonged and extraordinarily costly conflict. Analysts say there is now growing consensus in the Israeli military and security establishment that Israel needs to be ready to strike Iran directly in a much more forceful and public way than it ever has, in the wake of the second large-scale attack on Israel in six months. Iran has warned of significant retaliation if it does.

— Syria attack: An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Damascus, the Syrian capital, killed three people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news media. The attack comes a day after state news media said Israeli strikes on the city killed one of its TV anchors, Safaa Ahmed, and two other civilians.