Hezbollah leader says more Israelis will be displaced as the militants extend their rocket fire

Sheikh Naim Kassem, the acting leader of Hezbollah, said its military capabilities are still intact and that it has replaced all of its senior commanders after weeks of heavy Israeli airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon, including targeted strikes that killed much of its top command in a matter of days.

He also said Israeli forces have not been able to advance after launching a ground incursion into Lebanon last week. The Israeli military said a fourth division is now taking part in the incursion, which has expanded to the west, but operations still appear to be confined to a narrow strip along the border.

The Israeli military says it has dismantled militant infrastructure along the border and killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. On Tuesday, it said a strike in Beirut had killed Suhail Husseini, who it described as a senior commander responsible overseeing logistics, budget and management of the militant group.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah, and no way to confirm battlefield claims made by either side.

In Gaza, meanwhile, heavy fighting was underway Tuesday between Israeli ground forces and Palestinian militants in the isolated north, where Israel has ordered another full-scale evacuation in recent days.

“We are firing hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones. A large number of settlements and cities are under the fire of the resistance,” Kassem said in a video address, speaking from an undisclosed location. “Our capabilities are fine and our fighters are deployed along the frontlines."

He said Hezbollah's top leadership was directing the war and that the commanders killed by Israel have been replaced. “We have no vacant posts,” he added.

He said that Hezbollah will name a new leader to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a bunker in Beirut last month, “but the circumstances are difficult because of the war.”

The Israeli army said 85 projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Tuesday.

Israel’s aerial defense intercepted most of the rockets, the military said. A 70-year-old woman was moderately wounded by shrapnel and Israeli media aired footage of what appeared to be minor damage to buildings near the coastal city of Haifa.

The military also said that it struck Hezbollah targets in the southern Beirut suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, where the militant group is headquartered.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas' surprise attack into Israel ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran, and Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at aiding the Palestinians. Israel has carried out airstrikes in response and the conflict steadily escalated, erupting into a full-fledged war last month.

The Lebanese militant group has said it will stop the attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but months of diplomatic efforts on that front have repeatedly stalled.

Israel has inflicted a punishing wave of blows against Hezbollah in recent weeks and says it will keep fighting until tens of thousands of displaced Israeli citizens can return to their homes in the north.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon and over a million displaced since the fighting escalated in mid-September.

Since then, Hezbollah has extended its rocket fire into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the country's commercial hub of Tel Aviv. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have also launched missiles that reached central Israel. Most of the projectiles have been intercepted or fallen in open areas, disrupting life in Israel while causing few casualties and little property damage.

Last, week Iran launched its own barrage of some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, in what it said was a response to the killing of Nasrallah, an Iranian general who was with him at the time and Ismail Haniyeh, the top leader of Hamas, who was killed in an explosion in Iran's capital in July.

Israel has vowed to respond to the missile attack, without saying when or how.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington this week to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Biden administration says it is opposed to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, which could escalate regional tensions even further.

Northern Gaza, where heavy fighting raged Tuesday, was the first target of Israel’s ground offensive. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble and Israeli troops have largely isolated the region — which includes Gaza City — since last October, when up to a million people fled to the south following Israeli evacuation orders.

Hundreds of thousands have remained in the north despite the harsh conditions, leading Israel to order another total evacuation in recent days. Israel has barred residents from returning to the north.

Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants in Jabaliya, a densely populated urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Palestinian residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery were pounding Jabaliya as well as Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, towns near the border.

The Israeli military said it killed around 20 militants in airstrikes and ground fighting in Jabaliya. It said troops located a large quantity of weapons, including grenades and rifles.

The nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital said at least 15 people, including two women and four children, were killed Tuesday in the fighting in Jabaliya. It said the dead included four people who were trying to retrieve bodies.

“The situation is extremely difficult. The bombing and explosions haven’t stopped,” said Mahmoud Abu Shehatah, a Jabaliya resident. “It’s like the first days of the war.”

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed around 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not say how many were fighters, but say women and children make up more than half of all fatalities.

Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Israeli soldiers from the Homefront Command unit treat an elderly woman at the site that was hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Yam, northern Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers from the Homefront Command unit treat an elderly woman at the site that was hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Yam, northern Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians mourn as they carry the body of a relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man holds the body of a relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn a relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A man examine his damaged apartment that was hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Yam, northern Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A man examine his damaged apartment that was hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kiryat Yam, northern Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A man examine his damaged apartment that was hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon in Kiryat Yam, northern Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Destroyed buildings are seen after being hit by Israeli airstrikes in the village of Qmatiyeh, southeast Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man stand next to damaged cars near a building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes in the village of Qmatiyeh, southeast Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man fixes power cables in front of a building that was hit by Israeli airstrikes in the village of Qmatiyeh, southeast Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Destroyed buildings are seen after being hit by Israeli airstrikes in the village of Qmatiyeh, southeast Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Destroyed buildings are seen after being hit by Israeli airstrikes in the village of Qmatiyeh, southeast Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Vehicles drive past a billboard on a highway in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, showing slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, center, late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, right, and the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The billboard contains a verse of Quran that reads: "We will surely inflict punishment upon the wicked." (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Vehicles drive past a billboard on a highway in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, showing slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, center, late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, right, and the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The billboard contains a verse of Quran that reads: "We will surely inflict punishment upon the wicked." (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Smoke rises from destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike hit in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike hit in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike hit in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike hit in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man shows a burnt car to a girl, after a rocket launched from Lebanon, hit an area in Kfar Vradim, northern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man walks as smoke rises from destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought Tuesday to assure residents of the state’s western coast as a dangerous Hurricane Milton approached that there was enough gas for them to fuel up and get out of harm’s way.

“There is no fuel shortage. Fuel continues to arrive in the state of Florida” despite long lines at gas stations, he said at a morning news briefing. He said officials are working with fuel companies to continue bringing in gasoline.

“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” DeSantis said. “You can evacuate tens of miles; you do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”

DeSantis said that the state has helped evacuate over 200 health care facilities in Milton’s path and that 36 county-run shelters are open.

The state has also been scrambling to remove debris from recent Hurricane Helene, lest the messes become projectiles when Milton is expected to crash ashore late Wednesday as a major hurricane. He said the state has deployed over 300 dump trucks that are working around the clock and have removed of 1,200 loads of debris.

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

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene's devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

Almost the entirety of Florida's west coast was under a hurricane warning as the storm and its 155 mph (250 kph) winds spun just off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, creeping toward the state at 12 mph (19 kph) and sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters.

Milton's center could come ashore Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people. The county that's home to Tampa ordered evacuations for areas adjacent to the bay and for all mobile and manufactured homes by Tuesday night.

Lifeguards on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay removed beach chairs and other items that could take flight in strong winds. Elsewhere, stoves, chairs, refrigerators and kitchen tables waited in heaps to be picked up.

Sarah Steslicki, who lives in Belleair Beach, said she was frustrated that more debris had not been collected sooner.

“If this one does hit, it’s going to be flying missiles," she said Monday. "Stuff’s going to be floating and flying in the air.”

The National Hurricane Center downgraded Milton early Tuesday to a Category 4 hurricane, but forecasters said it still posed “ an extremely serious threat to Florida.” Milton had intensified quickly Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm at midday with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 kph) before being downgraded.

Forecasters warned that Milton could bring a 10- to 15-foot (3- to 4.5-meter) storm surge to Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders being issued for beach communities all along the Gulf coast. In Florida, that means anyone who stays is on their own and first responders are not expected to risk their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm.

Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall and as it makes its way across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean with rainfall totals as high as 18 inches (20 centimeters) possible, according to the hurricane center. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.

Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear luck is about to run out.

“In the end, it matters where it goes because how it affects people, and if you look at the population in Florida, there’s much more population across the central part of the state than there is in the Big Bend,” said hurricane specialist John Cangialosi, reflecting on Helene's path.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history.

“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a Monday news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”

The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Helene and its powerful surge — a wall of water up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) it created even though its eye was 100 miles (160 kilometers) offshore. Twelve people died there, with the worst damage along a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

Stragglers were a problem during Helene and 2022's Ian. Many residents failed to heed ample warnings, saying they evacuated during previous storms only to have major surges not materialize. But there was evidence Monday that people were getting out before Milton arrives.

A steady stream of vehicles headed north toward the Florida Panhandle on Interstate 75 as residents heeded evacuation orders. Traffic clogged the southbound lanes of the highway for miles as other residents headed for the relative safety of Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the other side of the state.

About 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was nearly a ghost town Monday afternoon as an evacuation order took effect. Ian devastated the 5,000-resident community two years ago, its 15-foot (4.5-meter) storm surge destroying or severely damaging 400 homes and businesses. Fourteen people died there as they tried to ride out the storm, and dozens had to be rescued.

On Monday, the few residents who could be found were racing against the clock to safeguard their buildings and belongings. None said they were staying.

The signs of Ian's devastation remain visible everywhere. Rebuilt homes stand next to others in various states of construction. There are numerous vacant lots, which were once rare.

“This whole street used to be filled out with houses,” said Mike Sandell, owner of Pool-Rific Services. His workers were removing and storing pumps and heaters Monday from his clients' pools so they wouldn't get destroyed.

Home construction supplies like bricks, piping and even workers' outhouses lined the streets, potential projectiles that could do further damage if a surge hits.

At the beach Monday afternoon, workers busily emptied the triple-wide trailer that houses The Goodz, a combined hardware, convenience, fishing supply, ice cream and beach goods store. Owner Graham Belger said he moved his “Your Island Everything Store” into the trailer after Ian destroyed his permanent building across the street.

“We’ll rebuild, but it is going to be bad," he said.

Nearby, Don Girard and his son Dominic worked to batten down the family’s three-story combination rental and vacation home that’s about 100 feet (30.5 meters) from the water. Its first-floor garage and entranceway were flooded by Helene last month, Hurricane Debby in August, and a tide brought by a recent supermoon.

Ian was by far the worst. Its waves crashed into the 14-year-old home’s second floor, destroying the flooring. Girard repaired the damage, and his aqua-blue and white home stands in contrast to the older, single-story house across the street. It was submerged by Ian, never repaired and remains vacant. Its once-off-white walls are now tinged with brown. Plywood covers the holes that once contained windows and doors.

Girard, who owns a banner and flag company in Texas, said that while his feelings about owning his home are mostly positive, they are becoming mixed. He said every December, his extended family gathers there for the holidays. At that time of year, temperatures in southwest Florida are usually in the 70s (low 20s Celsius) with little rain or humidity. The area and its beaches fill with tourists.

“At Christmas, there is no better place in the world,” Girard said.

But flooding from Ian, the other storms and now Milton is leaving him frustrated.

“It’s been difficult, I’m not going to lie to you," Girard said. “The last couple years have been pretty bad.”

Daley reported from Tampa. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Mike Schneider in Orlando, Kate Payne in Tampa, Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale and Seth Borenstein in Washington.

People rest in a refugee shelter prior to the arrival of Hurricane Milton, in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina)

A man boards up an apartment building to protect it from Hurricane Milton, in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina)

A man boards up a government building to protect it from Hurricane Milton, in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina)

Heavy traffic flows northbound on Interstate-75 as people evacuate the Tampa Bay area ahead of Hurricane Milton's arrival late Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Ocala, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Workers board up a grocery store to protect it from Hurricane Milton, in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina)

A sculpture of Poseidon stands in the ocean before the arrival of Hurricane Milton in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Zetina)

Motorists wait in line to fill gas tanks Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Riverview, Fla., before Hurricane Milton makes landfall along Florida's gulf coast. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Gas pumps are covered at a station Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Clearwater Beach, Fla., ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Rob Menard, owner of Reefers Social Club, finishes putting up boards and tape over windows Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Clearwater Beach, Fla., ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Flooring and signage is laid out at River Ridge High School as they ready the school for use as a shelter in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Shoppers load cases of water at the Costco at Costco, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Altamonte Springs, Fla., as residents prepare for the impact of approaching Hurricane Milton. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Cars wait in line to get into the parking lot for gas at Costco, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Altamonte Springs, Fla., as residents prepare for the impact of approaching Hurricane Milton. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Cars wait in line to get into the parking lot for gas at Costco, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Altamonte Springs, Fla., as residents prepare for the impact of approaching Hurricane Milton. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Salvage works remove debris from Hurricane Helene flooding along the Gulf of Mexico Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Clearwater Beach, Fla. Crews are working to remove the debris before Hurricane Milton approaches Florida's west coast. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Contractors with the City of New Port Richey help clean debris left by Hurricane Helene in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Jay McCoy puts up plywood in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

Boats destroyed during Hurricane Helene are shown on the Davis Islands Yacht Basin ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Noah Weibel and his dog Cookie climb the steps to their home as their family prepares for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)