Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli civilians wounded by Hezbollah strikes as wider war feared

At least 19 people including six soldiers were wounded in northern Israel on Tuesday after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants launched drone attacks, emergency officials said, as world leaders try to stop tensions in the Middle East from boiling over into a regional war.

Most of the people were hurt by an Israeli interceptor rocket that missed and hit the ground. Local authorities issued sweeping new guidelines in northern Israel for all residents to “avoid all non-vital activity and to stay near a safe area” until further notice. Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months during the war in Gaza.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli fire during military raids killed 10 Palestinians, including four teenagers, and wounded another 10, Palestinian officials said.

Efforts continue around the region to prevent the war from becoming a wider conflict after the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet over the weekend that Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.

Inside Gaza, the only corridor for humanitarian aid to enter the south has been shut down because of fighting in the area. The Palestinian territory faces a severe humanitarian crisis as its Health Ministry says the death toll in the war approaches 40,000.

Here’s the latest:

CAIRO — Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty on Tuesday told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over the phone that efforts are being exerted to reduce tensions in the Middle East amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Abdelatty also warned against the risks of an expanded conflict that could destabilize the region and its security, according to a statement released by the Egyptian foreign ministry.

The Egyptian minister confirmed during his call that Egypt is collaborating with China as well as regional and international leaders to “stop the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip.”

He also pointed out that Israel’s policy of “political assassinations and violations of states’ sovereignty has worsened the crisis and significantly increased regional tension.”

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA — Palestinians in Gaza are still struggling to secure food and clean water for their families as Israel continues to restrict the entry of life-saving aid.

Children in Khan Younis have to line up for a long time to get food at charity kitchens and fill up 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of water in plastic containers — hardly enough for large families. Water has become severely scarce in Gaza after water wells across the enclave were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes.

“Life here is unbearable,” Ghalia Hamouda, a woman displaced from Beit Lahiya, told The Associated Press. “There is no water. We don’t have charity kitchens. Our children have been sick all day … and stomach cramps never go away."

A woman from a displaced family cooked white beans in thin tomato sauce over a basic stove as seven relatives gathered around to eat two plates of the beans with pieces of bread.

“My son is young. He runs a distance of around 2 kilometers to reach a charity kitchen to get food and sometimes he comes back with only his tears and he’s empty-handed because he couldn’t get his turn in line to get food,” Rafat Abed Al-Dayem said.

Al-Dayem said his family gets around 20 liters to 40 liters (5.3 to 10.5 gallons) of “not drinkable” water: “We only drink it because we are thirsty.”

Last month, UN experts declared that famine has spread throughout the Gaza Strip as they reported cases of malnutrition and dehydration.

“We’re deprived from everything, including aid which we don’t see. Where is the humanitarian aid?” said Rahaf Al-Refi, a woman displaced from Gaza City.

BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group vowed to retaliate against Israel for its recent airstrike in Beirut that killed a top commander, “no matter what the consequences are.”

Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah could either act unilaterally or in unity with its allies in the so-called “axis of resistance” that includes Iran and its proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

Tension has been rising in the Middle East since last week’s attacks in which a top military commander Fouad Shukur was killed in Beirut and a Hamas political leader was killed in Iran.

Israel said it killed Shukur but did not claim or deny the rocket attack that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was visiting Tehran.

“The Israelis chose escalation by carrying out assassinations,” Nasrallah said. He said Hezbollah will not be silent regarding the Beirut airstrike.

He added that Israel has been on high alert since last week while waiting for Hezbollah’s retaliation, adding that making them wait “is part of the punishment.”

Shortly before Nasrallah gave his speech, Israeli warplanes flew over Beirut twice Tuesday afternoon, shaking buildings and increasing anxiety among the capital’s residents. It came two days after the Lebanese marked the fourth anniversary of the massive port blast in Beirut that killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and caused wide destruction.

NAHARIYA, Israel — At least 19 people including six soldiers have been wounded in northern Israel after Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants launched drone attacks, emergency officials said. Most were hurt by an Israeli interceptor rocket that missed and hit the ground.

The attack did not appear to be linked to Hezbollah’s vow to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last week, which has raised fears of an all-out war. Still, local authorities issued sweeping new guidelines in northern Israel for all residents to “avoid all non-vital activity and to stay near a safe area” until further notice.

Tuesday’s strikes appeared to be part of the near-daily exchanges of fire across the Israeli-Lebanon border. Hezbollah says its rocket and drone barrages since the start of the war in Gaza are an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.

An Israeli airstrike earlier Tuesday killed four people in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.

Hezbollah’s drones targeted sites near the coastal town of Nahariya, the military said. It said an interceptor missed its target in one case, falling and injuring a number of people. The Nahariya Medical Center said 12 people were hurt in that incident, including one seriously. Seven others were injured in another drone strike, the center said.

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli army bases after an Israeli strike Monday killed a lower-level commander in southern Lebanon.

JERUSALEM — Ultra-Orthodox protesters have jumped barriers and broken through fences to storm an Israeli military recruitment base in another demonstration against their impending enlistment.

A landmark Supreme Court order said young religious men must begin enlisting for military service. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft that is compulsory for most Jewish men.

In videos aired on Hebrew media, at least a dozen men could be seen wandering through the woods at the base. Others could be seen scuffling with police on horseback. Israeli police said 21 people were arrested and three policemen were injured. The military condemned the violent behavior and called the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox “an operational necessity.”

NAHARIYA, Israel — Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched a drone attack Tuesday on northern Israel, wounding at least seven people, in response to the killing of one of its fighters in an Israeli airstrike.

The attack did not appear to be linked to Hezbollah’s vow to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous week, which has raised fears of an all-out war.

Hezbollah has launched near-daily drone and rocket attacks since the start of the Gaza war in what it says is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has responded with airstrikes, one of which killed four people in southern Lebanon earlier Tuesday, according to Lebanese authorities.

Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack targeting army bases in northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of a lower-level commander in a strike late Monday.

Gal Zaid, spokesperson for Galilee Medical Center, said it was treating one severely wounded person and four others with mild injuries. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating seven wounded in three locations in Western Galilee.

The Israeli military said “a number” of drones entered from Lebanon, one of which was intercepted. It said several civilians were wounded near the coastal town of Nahariya, some 6 kilometers (4 miles) south of the border, without giving a precise number.

JERUSALEM — The only corridor for humanitarian aid to enter southern Gaza has been shut down, apparently because of fighting in the area.

The Israeli military said the humanitarian route leading from the crossing into the city of Rafah was closed Tuesday until further notice after anti-tank missiles were fired at troops and multiple soldiers were wounded. It said the Kerem Shalom crossing was open.

Hamas’ armed wing said it attacked an Israeli tank in the area. It is not possible to confirm battlefield reports in Gaza.

The Palestinian territory has been plunged into a severe humanitarian crisis in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. The vast majority of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced by the fighting, often multiple times, and hundreds of thousands are sheltering in crowded, squalid tent camps. International experts said in June that Gaza was at “high risk” of famine.

Aid groups say efforts to bring in desperately needed food and supplies have been hindered by Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike on a village in the country’s south killed four people. The ministry said Tuesday’s airstrike targeted a home in the village of Maifadoun near the market town of Nabatiye.

It was not immediately clear if the dead were civilians or militants.

Since early October, Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts along the border calling it a backup front for their Palestinian allies in the Gaza Strip. Since then, more than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon, including around 90 civilians. On the Israeli side, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed.

JERUSALEM — Israeli police say a stabbing at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem lightly wounded one Border Police officer.

Police said that the attack occurred after Israeli officers at the checkpoint asked passengers to disembark from a bus for what it called a “routine check.” One of the passengers then stabbed a Border Police officer with a screwdriver.

Military Police immediately shot and killed the attacker, police said without identifying the assailant. Israel’s rescue services said the 20-year-old female officer wounded in the attack was fully conscious and was being transferred to the hospital.

Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza. More than 600 Palestinians have been killed, mostly in military raids, gun battles between the army and militants, and violent protests. Palestinians have carried out a number of attacks against Israelis, including stabbings at checkpoints.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian officials say 10 Palestinians were killed, including four teenagers, and another 10 were wounded by Israeli fire during military raids and operations across the north of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday that four people, including two 19-year-olds and a 14-year-old, were killed in an overnight raid in the village of Aqaaba in the northern West Bank. It said another four people, including an 18-year-old, were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in Jenin — a frequent flashpoint — where the Islamic Jihad militant group said its fighters were battling the army.

Meanwhile two more Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces in the village of Kafr Qud, near Jenin, later Tuesday, the ministry said.

Israel's military said it “eliminated four terrorists” with an airstrike in the Jenin area and that it and border police “eliminated” seven others it said threw explosive devices at security forces or tried to plant explosives. It said a soldier was injured during the operation.

Israel has carried out near-daily military raids across the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Palestinians from the West Bank have carried out a number of attacks on Israelis. The Health Ministry says over 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war. Most were killed during military arrest raids and violent protests.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercising limited control over population centers. Over 500,000 Jewish settlers, who live in scores of settlements across the territory that most of the international community views as illegal or illegitimate, have Israeli citizenship.

SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday condemned as “abhorrent” an Iranian ambassador’s social media comment on Israel.

Albanese said ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi had been called in for a meeting with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials over his recent post on the social media platform X.

Sadeghi cites Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin advocating that “wiping out the Zionist plague out of the holy lands of Palestine happens no later than 2027.” Sadeghi added: “Looking forward to such a heavenly & divine promise Inshaa-Allah.” The Arabic expression means “if God wills.”

Albanese told reporters: “I make it clear: There’s no place for the sort of comments that were made online on social media by the Iranian ambassador.”

“They’re abhorrent. And they are hateful, they are antisemitic and they have no place,” Albanese added.

Asked by a reporters if the ambassador should be expelled from Australia, Albanese did not directly answer.

The Iranian Embassy in Australia later told The Associated Press in an email that Sadeghi’s post “has nothing to do with Jewish People, anti-Semitism or raising hate speech or violent ways.”

Supporters raise their fists and cheer as they watch a speech given by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on a screen during a ceremony to commemorate the death of top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine)

Hezbollah supporters hold portraits that show Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah and one of his commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, during a ceremony to commemorate his death in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine)

Hezbollah fighters stand behind the coffin of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday, July 30, as Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, displayed on a screen, speaks during Shukur's funeral in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Gunmen attend the funeral of five Palestinians killed by an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the West Bank city of Jenin, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Supporters raise their fists and cheer as they watch a speech given by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on a screen during a ceremony to commemorate the death of top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last week, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine)

Mourners carry the bodies of five Palestinians during their funeral, draped in flags of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups, killed by an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the West Bank city of Jenin, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Gunmen attend the funeral of five Palestinians killed by an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the West Bank city of Jenin, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Mourners carry portraits of Hezbollah commander Ali Jawad, who was killed on Monday by an Israeli airstrike, during his funeral procession, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. Since early October, Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts along the border calling it a backup front for their Palestinian allies in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather on a bridge as others block a road to protest against military recruitment, in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli police detain an ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth protesting against military recruitment in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli submarine, rear, is seen off the coast of Haifa, Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The body of a suspected attacker lies on the ground at a checkpoint outside of Jerusalem, Israel, following a stabbing attack, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli Police work at the site of a drone strike in Nahariya, Israel, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A Palestinian gunman kneels over a Palestinian killed by Israeli fire, at a funeral in the West Bank village of Aqaaba, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the state memorial for Ze'ev Jabotinsky, at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Naama Grynbaum/Pool Photo via AP)

Workers carry a body, returned by Israel, to a cemetery in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. A Palestinian official says Israel has returned more than 80 bodies to the Gaza Strip. The identities of the deceased and the cause of death were not immediately known. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli shelling hits an area in Lebanon next to the Israeli-Lebanese border at the Galilee region as seen from the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Passengers whose flights were cancelled, wait at the departure terminal ground of Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Turkey and Japan became the latest countries to urge their citizens to leave Lebanon amid rising tensions with Israel following last week's airstrike in Beirut that killed a top Hezbollah military commander. Fears of an escalation in the simmering conflict between Hezbollah and Israel have prompted some airlines to cancel flights to Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A poster of the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an assassination last week, hangs on a mosque building in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Iran has vowed to respond with "power and decisiveness" to the targeted killing of Hamas' top political leader, which it blamed on Israel. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Family, friends and supporters of Ariel Bibas, who is held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, mark his fifth birthday in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Ariel Bibas, who along with his 1-year-old brother Kfir, has become a symbol of the struggle to free the hostages who remain captive in Gaza. He loved all of the superheroes, and Batman especially, said a relative who wore a shirt with Batman on it in Ariel's honor. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A Palestinian woman watches an operation by the Israeli military in Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. The Israeli military said it struck five suspected terrorists in a vehicle on their way to carry out an attack. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Family, friends and supporters of Ariel Bibas, who is held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, mark his fifth birthday in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Ariel Bibas, who along with his 1-year-old brother Kfir, has become a symbol of the struggle to free the hostages who remain captive in Gaza. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

FILE - The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, Feb. 28, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. On Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, the U.N. announced that it fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Workers carry a body returned by Israel to a cemetery in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. A Palestinian official says Israel has returned more than 80 bodies to the Gaza Strip. The identities of the deceased and the cause of death were not immediately known. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A pro-Palestinian protest by Microsoft employees interrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebration Friday, the latest backlash over the tech industry’s work to supply artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military.

The protest happened as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was presenting product updates and a long-term vision for the company's AI assistant product, Copilot, to an audience that included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.

“Mustafa, shame on you,” shouted Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad as she walked toward the stage and Suleyman paused his speech. “You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”

“Thank you for your protest, I hear you,” Suleyman said. Aboussad continued, shouting that he and “all of Microsoft” had blood on their hands. She also threw onto the stage a keffiyeh scarf, which has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people, before being escorted out of the event.

A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted another part of the celebration during which Gates, Ballmer and current CEO Satya Nadella were on stage — the first public gathering since 2014 of the three men who have been Microsoft's CEO.

An investigation by The Associated Press revealed earlier this year that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The story also contained details of an errant Israeli airstrike in 2023 that struck a vehicle carrying members of a Lebanese family, killing three young girls and their grandmother.

In February, five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for protesting the contracts. While the February event was an internal meeting, Friday's protest was far more public — a livestreamed showcase of the company's past and future.

“We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard," said a statement from the company Friday. “Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”

Microsoft declined to say whether it would take further action.

CORRECTS DATE - A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a kufiyyeh as they interrupt Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during a presentation of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, ahead of a 50th Anniversary presentation at Microsoft headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

CORRECTS DATE - A pro-Palestinian demonstrator is escorted away by security as they interrupt Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during a presentation of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, ahead of a 50th Anniversary presentation at Microsoft headquarters, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Wash. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)