Philadelphia mayor strikes a deal with the 76ers to build a new arena downtown

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers have a new teammate in their bid to build a new $1.3 billion arena downtown.

Mayor Cherelle Parker announced Wednesday that she has forged a deal with team owners to keep the NBA franchise in town and will send it to city council. The decision comes despite objections from nearby Chinatown residents and just weeks after New Jersey's governor offered $400 million in tax breaks to build the site across the river in Camden.

“This is an historic agreement,” Parker said in a video posted on the social platform X. “I wholeheartedly believe this is the right deal for the people of Philadelphia. To the people of Chinatown, please know that I hear you. We have the best Chinatown in the United States, and I am committed to working together to support it."

Team owners say their planned 76 Place would improve a struggling retail corridor near City Hall and capitalize on the city's public transit. They have vowed not to renew the lease on their current home, a circa 1996 arena in the city’s South Philadelphia sports complex, when their lease runs out in 2031.

The team now rents the arena from Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, who also play there. Instead, the Sixers’ owners want their own, more modern facility, one they could also rent out for concerts and other events.

Josh Harris, a managing partner of the ownership group, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, has said the Sixers will build a privately funded facility that “strengthens ties within the local community through investments that prioritize equity, inclusivity and accessibility."

On Wednesday, a spokesperson said the owners were grateful for Parker's support of their proposal "and look forward to advancing to the next steps with city council.”

Chinatown activists who have felt the squeeze of development repeatedly since at least the 1990s had urged the mayor to reject the plan. They are only now getting some relief from a sunken expressway that cleaved their community in two in 1991, in the form of a $159 million grant to build a park over the six-lane highway and reconnect the area.

Parker, who inherited the 76ers issue when she took office in January, had promised to consider their input. Activists complained Wednesday that she ignored it. Some of them took to City Hall with homemade lanterns to “shine a light” on the potential consequences. They say the project will increase vehicle traffic in their pedestrian-friendly neighborhood and force vulnerable residents — older people, low-income families and new immigrants — out.

Debbie Wei, of the Save Chinatown Coalition, said the mayor alone should not decide “whether our community should live or die.”

“This fight is far from over," she said in a statement. “We are going to fight this, and we are going to the mat. It’s on.”

Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty said they will keep the door open for the 76ers as the plan unfolds while working with the Phillies to expand entertainment venues and jobs at the South Philadelphia complex.

“Either way, we always want what is best for Philadelphia," Hilferty said in a statement.

AP sportswriter Dan Gelston contributed to this report from Philadelphia.

People walk through the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A man walks through the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

People pass through the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A man walks through the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Evening traffic passes near the Chinatown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel and Hezbollah exchanged strikes along the Israel-Lebanon border on Thursday as Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed retaliation for attacks earlier this week on his group’s communication devices.

“The enemy will face a severe and fair punishment from where they expect and don’t expect,” Nasrallah said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

BEIRUT (AP) —

The leader of Hezbollah said Thursday the mass bombing attack on the group’s communications devices in Lebanon and Syria was a “severe blow” and said Israel had crossed a “red line.” But he vowed the group would emerge stronger and continue its daily strikes into northern Israel.

As Hassan Nasrallah spoke in a televised speech from an unknown location, Hezbollah and the Israeli military traded new strikes over the border. Israeli war planes flew low over Beirut and broke the sound barrier, scattering birds and prompting people in houses and offices to quickly open windows to prevent them from shattering.

Fears are rising that 11 months of exchanges of fire between the two sides will escalate into all-out war, particularly after this week's unprecedented bombings, which detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie- talkies used by Hezbollah.

At least 37 people were killed and some 3,000 wounded in the explosions, which appeared to be the culmination of a monthslong operation by Israel to target as many Hezbollah members as possible all at once but also hit civilians.

The attack came as Israeli leaders have warned that they could launch a stepped-up military operation against Hezbollah, saying they are determined to stop the group's fire to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes near the border.

Nasrallah said the group is investigating how the bombings were carried out.

“Yes, we were subjected to a huge and severe blow,” he said. “The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines,” he added.

He vowed that Hezbollah will keep going on with its attacks along the border with Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues. “The Lebanese front will not stop before the aggression on Gaza stops,” he said.

Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.” He made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

Hezbollah said earlier Thursday it had targeted three military positions in northern Israel near the border, two of them with drones. The Israeli military said the drones crashed near communities. Hospitals reported they treated at least eight patients lightly or moderately injured. The military said early Thursday it had struck several militant sites in southern Lebanon overnight.

The volley of strikes was a signal by Hezbollah that it would continue its near daily fire, which it says is a show of support for Hamas. Israel’s 11-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza began after its militants led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Israel has responded to Hezbollah’s fire with strikes in southern Lebanon, and has struck senior figures from the group in the capital Beirut. The exchanges have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents on each side of the border.

Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly pulled back from an all-out war under heavy pressure from the United States, France and other countries.

But in their recent warnings, Israeli leaders have said they are determined to change the status quo dramatically.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, Israeli officials said. Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah, though media reported the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Lebanon is still reeling from the deadly device attacks of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The explosions have rattled anxious Lebanese fearing a full-scale war. The Lebanese Army said it has been locating and detonating suspicious pagers and communication devices, while the country’s civil aviation authorities banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s international airport until further notice.

The attack was likely to severely disrupt Hezbollah’s internal communication as it scrambles to determine safe means to talk to each other. Hezbollah announced the death of five combatants Thursday, but didn’t specify if they were killed in the explosions or on the front lines.

The blasts went off wherever the holders of the pagers or walkie-talkies happened to be in multiple parts of Beirut and eastern and southern Lebanon — in homes and cars, grocery stores and cafes and on the street, even at a funeral for some killed in the bombings, often with family and other bystanders nearby.

Many suffered gaping wounds on their legs, abdomens and faces or were maimed in the hand. Tuesday’s pager blasts killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded some 2,300 others. The following day’s explosion killed 25 and wounded more than 600, Health Minister Firas Abiad said, giving updated figures.

Abiad told reporters that Wednesday’s injuries were more severe than the previous day as walkie-talkies that exploded were bigger than the pagers. He praised Lebanon’s hospitals, saying they had managed to deal with the flood of wounded within hours. “It was an indiscriminate attack. It was a war crime,” he said.

Israelis take cover next to a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from Lebanon, in Nahariya, northern Israel, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People watch the speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on a tv screen as they sit in a cafe in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Hezbollah members carry the coffin of their comrade who was killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man mourns during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members, killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A girl cries during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members, killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Hezbollah members attend the funeral of two of their comrades who were killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Police tape cordons off the area as security members and an explosive specialist investigate a suspicious device in Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Hezbollah members carry the coffins of two of their comrades who were killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A boy cries during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman holds a picture of a Hezbollah member who was killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during his funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as their comrades prepare to detonate a walkie-talkie that was found at the parking of the American University Hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

This video grab shows a walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo)

Hezbollah fighters salute as they stand next to the coffins of four victims who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, during their funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners carry the coffins of victims who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, during their funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)