Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, met with officials in Beirut on Tuesday in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to head off a larger war.
Cross-border attacks by Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been taking place almost daily since the war in Gaza began in October and escalated dramatically a week ago, after Israel killed a high-ranking Hezbollah commander in a strike on south Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday about a law granting far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sweeping power over the police. Ben-Gvir was convicted eight times for offenses that include racism and supporting a Jewish terrorist organization. As national security minister, he has encouraged police to take a tough line against anti-government protesters and has actively supported officers accused of using excessive force against Palestinians.
Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his influential war Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza a week after Benny Gantz, a popular opposition lawmaker and former military chief, quit Netanyahu’s three-person governing coalition in frustration over how the war was being handled.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 37,100 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians who are facing widespread hunger.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Currently:
— Netanyahu dissolves influential war Cabinet after key partner bolted from government.
— Iran’s presidential candidates debate economic policies ahead of the June 28 vote.
— A pro-Palestinian encampment is cleared from Cal State LA, days after building takeover.
— U.S. Vice President Harris meets with an Israeli lawyer who was held hostage and described being sexually assaulted in Gaza.
— The war in Gaza has wiped out entire Palestinian families. news agencies documents 60 who lost dozens or more.
Follow news agencies’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here’s the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said that Hezbollah launched four projectiles toward Israel on Tuesday afternoon, breaking three days of relative calm.
The cross-border fire came while Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, was meeting with officials in Beirut on Tuesday in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to head off a larger war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said all of the launches were intercepted, though shrapnel from an explosive drone started a brush fire near the border, according to the Israeli Fire and Rescue Services.
Also on Tuesday, state media in Lebanon reported an Israeli drone strike on a car on the highway north of the coastal city of Tyre. It wasn’t immediately clear who was in the car or how many people were killed or injured.
The lull came after intense barrages last week, when Hezbollah launched hundreds of drones and rockets, including more than 200 on a single day, and the Israeli military struck Hezbollah targets in return.
The relative quiet continued even after the Israeli military said they killed a key operative in Hezbollah’s rocket and missile department, Mohammed Ayoub, in a drone attack on Monday morning near the village of Chehabiyeh.
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