Middle East latest: Hezbollah says its war with Israel is entering a new phase

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Friday it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, as the region continued to reckon with Israel's claim that top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza the previous day.

Hamas has still not responded to the Israeli announcement, but its ally Iran released a statement commemorating the Palestinian militant leader via its mission to the United Nations. Sinwar was a chief architect of the attack on southern Israel that precipitated the latest escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

Many, from the governments of Israeli allies to exhausted residents of Gaza, expressed hope that Sinwar's death would pave the way for an end to the war, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech announcing the killing that “Our war is not yet ended.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

Here's the latest:

BEIRUT — A statement issued by one of Hamas’ political leaders abroad Friday tacitly — but not directly — confirmed the death of the group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, in Gaza, and said that Israel is mistaken if it “believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people.”

Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said that past leaders in the organization had also been killed and “Hamas each time became stronger and more popular, and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine.” He added that it is “painful and distressing to lose beloved people, especially extraordinary leaders” but that the Palestinian militant group is sure it will be “eventually victorious.”

When asked if the statement was a confirmation of Sinwar’s death, Naim said it was not.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Friday that its forces killed two militants who crossed into south Israel from neighboring Jordan.

The militants entered Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea, the military said.

Such infiltrations into Israeli territory are relatively rare, especially as Israel has ramped up border security since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, when militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people.

JERUSALEM — Israeli prosecutors are set to indict a Palestinian from East Jerusalem on Friday who police say planned to carry out an attack on a hostage protest in Tel Aviv.

In a statement Friday, the police and Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said the man was a supporter of Hamas and other militant groups, and planned to carry out multiple attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers in retribution for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

The man had not yet acquired a weapon or explosives to carry out any of the attacks, the police said, adding that he was planning to attack a protest calling for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Such protests occur weekly in Tel Aviv.

BEIRUT — Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group says it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, adding that it has introduced new weapons over the past days.

A statement from the group’s operations room early Friday said that Hezbollah’s fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time.

The statement appears to refer to a drone laden with explosives that evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defense system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.

The group also announced earlier this week that it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv.

The statement also said that Hezbollah’s air defense units shot down this week two Israeli Hermes 450 drones.

Hezbollah said its fighters are working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon.

UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s Mission to the United Nations issued a statement honoring Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, after Israel said Thursday he had been killed in fighting:

“When U.S. forces dragged a disheveled Saddam Hussein out of an underground hole, he begged them not to kill him despite being armed. Those who regarded Saddam as their model of resistance eventually collapsed. However when Muslims look up to martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield — in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy — the spirit of resistance will be strengthened. He will become a model for the youth and children who will carry forth his path for the liberation of Palestine. As long as occupation and aggression exist, resistance will endure, for the martyr remains alive and a source of inspiration.”

Iran and Iraq fought a brutal war in the 1980s that began when Hussein launched an invasion of Iran. It killed more than 1 million people on both sides.

An Israeli security forces officer examines the damage to a home struck by a rocket fired from Lebanon in the town of Majd al-Krum, northern Israel, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israelis celebrate the news of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, near Kibbutz Erez, southern Israel, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, delivers a speech during at a hall on the seaside of Gaza City, on April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar speaks to foreign correspondents in his office in Gaza City on May 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

A demonstrator holds a sign about the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a protest calling for a cease-fire deal and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Displaced men fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's Dahiyeh suburb, eat as sit at Beirut's seaside promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea while the sun sets over the capital Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

LONDON (AP) — They’ll toil and sweat but hopefully without the blood and tears.

A London game is more than just a typical road trip for NFL teams. It’s a chance to learn about local history, too.

In fact, the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars — who play Sunday at Wembley Stadium — don’t even need to leave their practice facilities to do so.

The Patriots will train Friday at the exclusive Harrow School, whose most famous alumni is Winston Churchill. Farther out in the countryside, the Jaguars use a practice field that is nearly on top of a maze of World War II air raid shelters.

Harrow consists of 324 acres on a hill overlooking London where Churchill spent his high school years before entering politics and leading Britain through World War II as prime minister.

“If any of the Pats players take a break from practice, they should walk around and see the school grounds because they’re quite grand," said Lee Pollock, a director and senior adviser to the board of the International Churchill Society.

A highlight is the Speech Room, where young Churchill recited 1,200 lines from the poem “Lays of Ancient Rome” from memory and won a prize for the feat.

“At Harrow, he learned what he called the most noble thing in the world: the construction of a sentence in the English language,” Pollock said.

Pockets of American politicians have long admired and quoted the cigar-chomping Churchill, and that's spilled over into sports too. San Diego Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh is a big fan. Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker cited Churchill in a social media post about courage, though he's not the first to misattribute a quote to him.

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson had a large Churchill portrait in his office at the U.S. embassy when he was ambassador to the United Kingdom under then-President Donald Trump. Outside of his wartime leadership, Churchill’s legacy is more complex.

The Jags are close to history, too. To avoid German bombing in WWII, the Midland & Scottish Railway bought the Grove estate in Watford and moved its headquarters there. It was called “Project X.”

Air raid shelters were built and are still intact — explorers have posted videos online even though the entrances appear to be at least partially blocked. At one point they were being used as “bat roosts,” according to historical records. The Grove luxury hotel where the Jags now regularly stay opened in 2003.

Several entrances to the shelters are visible in the woods next to the Jags' practice field.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, speaking generally about the team's annual London trip, says he's always up for learning more about the region.

“I do enjoy history and learning about things," he said on Wednesday. "I don’t know a ton about the area, to be honest. Usually when we’re here it’s pretty busy and we’re kind of focused on the game and trying to win that, but I am intrigued and I think it’s cool just everything here at the Grove but also just in London — it’s so much older than in America.

“The history behind it,” Lawrence continued, "you pick up bits as you go ... it is interesting hearing different things about it.”

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New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye passes the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Patriots to practice on Winston Churchill's old stomping grounds in London

Patriots to practice on Winston Churchill's old stomping grounds in London