JERUSALEM — Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Wednesday launched more than 50 rockets, hitting a number of private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
The attack came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain. Diplomatic efforts had redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation.
Hezbollah said Wednesday’s attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism Wednesday as more details emerged of the proposal meant to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas.
Officials in Egypt, in its unique role as both a mediator and affected party since it borders Gaza, told The Associated Press that the Hamas militant group will not agree to the bridging proposal for a number of reasons — ones in addition to the long-held wariness over whether a deal would truly remove Israel forces from Gaza and end the war.
Hamas is believed to still be holding around 110 hostages captured during the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war. Israeli authorities estimate around a third are dead. During the Oct. 7 attack, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The war has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, often multiple times.
U.S. President Joe Biden planned to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday as the United States aims to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, according to two people familiar with planning for the call who were not authorized to comment publicly.
Hamas and Israel have signaled that challenges remain. Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation.
Meanwhile, Israel has ordered the evacuation of a residential area near the main hospital in central Gaza.
The military on Wednesday ordered people to leave an area in Deir al-Balah that is a few hundred yards away from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, one of the last functioning medical centers in the territory. The military said it would soon act against militants in the area.
There was no evacuation order for the hospital itself, but during past evacuations people have fled from areas adjacent to the declared zones for fear the fighting could spread.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, has displaced the vast majority of the territory’s 2.3 million residents, often multiple times.
The coastal strip, which is just 25 miles long by about 7 miles wide, has been completely sealed off by Israeli forces since May.
Around 84 percent of Gaza’s territory has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to the United Nations.
The war has destroyed much of Gaza’s health sector, and hospitals have struggled to function as they face waves of casualties from Israeli strikes. They have also been transformed into shelters, with thousands of people pitching tents in courtyards and parking lots.
Israeli forces have raided hospitals on several occasions since the start of the war, accusing Hamas and other militant groups of using them for military purposes, allegations denied by Gaza health officials.
Also, Israel police say they arrested five ultra-Orthodox protesters at a demonstration in Jerusalem against mandatory enlistment.
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox demonstrated outside of the Israeli military enlistment office in Jerusalem on Wednesday, blocking streets and preventing people who had received summons from the army from presenting themselves for enlistment.
