Middle East latest: Hezbollah fires rockets into central Israel

Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas but causing no apparent damage or injuries, a few hours before U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in the region on a mission to restart stalled Gaza ceasefire talks.

The Israeli military said five projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel and said most were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system. One landed in an open area.

The rocket fire came as Israel stepped up its strikes in Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah-run financial institution, and as the U.S. pushed to resume cease-fire talks in Gaza following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annihilate Hamas and recover dozens of hostages held by the group. Hamas says it will only release the captives in return for a lasting cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

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:

The death toll from an Israeli airstrikes late Monday that destroyed several buildings facing one of Beirut’s main hospitals climbed to 13. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 57 others were wounded in the strikes, including seven who were in critical condition.

It said the airstrikes caused significant damage to the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the country’s largest public hospital, located on the outskirts of southern Beirut. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The U.S. is making an 11th-hour effort to resuscitate some aspects of the halted cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas weeks before the presidential election and as Israel’s invasion of neighboring Lebanon intensifies, according to a senior State Department official.

Since negotiations fell apart over the summer, Americans have shifted to focus on a post-war plan for Israel and Gaza. The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity late Monday to preview Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s strategy, said that stakeholders have reached consensus on some aspects of the so-called day-after plan and that the U.S. is hopeful that this progress will create goodwill to get parties back to the table on a ceasefire.

The source added that the decision to go to Israel before meeting with Arab partners was a shift in the U.S.'s negotiation strategy.

The U.S. has long pushed for a postwar settlement in which a reformed Palestinian Authority would govern Gaza with help from Arab states and Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel.

But Arab leaders insist such plans would depend on a pathway to Palestinian statehood, something to which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deeply opposed. He has ruled out any postwar role for the PA and says local Palestinians will administer Gaza, with Israel maintaining open-ended security control.

Blinken also planned to reiterate concerns about the humanitarian aid crisis in Gaza outlined that U.S. officials laid out in a recent letter to Israel, the official said.

But official said that an anticipated Israeli retaliation against Iran is looming over the meeting, which will likely be the last time Blinken and Netanyahu meet before the U.S. presidential election.

— By Farnoush Amiri

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, as the U.S. hopes to revive cease-fire efforts after the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials. Following Israel, he’s expected to visit a number of Arab countries, likely to include Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Here more here.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran kept up pressure Tuesday on Israel as Jerusalem is expected to launch a threatened retaliatory strike on the Islamic Republic, insisting Tehran’s neighbors wouldn’t allow their territory to be used for such an assault and that it would strike back just as hard.

The comments from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi come as speculation grows over how Israel will retaliate for Tehran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Speaking in Kuwait as part of a Mideast tour, Araghchi insisted that Gulf Arab neighbors he’s spoken to wouldn’t allow their territory to be used.

“All the neighbors assured us that they will not allow their lands and air to be used against Iran,” Araghchi said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. “This is an expectation from all friendly and neighboring countries and we consider this a sign of friendship.”

However, many Gulf Arab nations host major U.S. military installations, like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as a hedge against any possible attack by Iran. Washington also has based aircraft carriers around the region as tensions have persisted in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent wars raging across the Mideast.

Gulf Arab nations have not made any public pledges like those described by Araghchi.

There have been tensions in the Persian Gulf and among Gulf Arab countries since Tehran launched a series of attacks targeting shipping in the region in 2019 over the U.S.'s unilateral withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers as well.

Separately, Pezeshkian warned that Israel will face a “corresponding answer” for any attack it carries out.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency says another Israeli airstrike has targeted the country’s main border crossing with Syria, leaving a second large crater on the highway running through it.

The National News Agency reported that the early Tuesday airstrike was closer to the Syrian side of the crossing, known as Jdeidet Yabous. Syrian TV also reported an airstrike in the border area.

An Israeli airstrike on Oct. 5 blocked a highway and left a giant crater near the Lebanese side of the crossing, known as Masnaa, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Beirut.

That strike prevented vehicles from going through the crossing, which tens of thousands of people have used to flee to Syria.

People now have to walk by foot in or around the two large craters several kilometers (miles) away.

The Israeli military has accused the Hezbollah militant group of using the Masnaa crossing to truck in military equipment from Syria. There was no immediate comment on the latest strike.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas but causing no apparent damage or injuries.

The Israeli military said five projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israel and said most were intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system. One landed in an open area.

Israeli police said there were no reports of damage or injury following the salvo.

The Israeli military said that at the same time, about 15 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Earlier Tuesday, air raid sirens went off in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after a rocket was launched from Lebanon, the Israeli military said. Damage was caused to homes in the Palestinian village of Shuqba.

The rocket fire came as Israel stepped up its strikes in Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah-run financial institution, and as Israeli troops push ahead in their invasion of southern Lebanon.

Israeli soldiers close the gate of Erez Crossing after trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Women from the Israeli Druze minority mourn during the funeral of Israeli Colonel Ehsan Daxa in Daliyat al-Carmel, Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Daxa, 41, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 2023 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli soldiers carry the flagged-covered coffin of Israeli Druze Colonel Ehsan Daxa, in Daliyat al-Carmel, Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Daxa, 41, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 2023 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Men from the Israeli Druze minority mourn during the funeral of Israeli Colonel Ehsan Daxa in Daliyat al-Carmel, Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Daxa, 41, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 2023 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A bust of the late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani stands in front of a destroyed branch of the Hezbollah-run Qard al-Hassan, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People displaced by Israel's war on Hezbollah leave a building after scuffle with members of the Lebanese security, after dozens of policemen arrived at the building to evict the displaced from the private property, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People displaced by Israel's war on Hezbollah scuffle with members of the Lebanese security, after dozens of policemen arrived at the building to evict the displaced from the private property, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People displaced by Israel's war on Hezbollah gesture after scuffle with members of the Lebanese security, after dozens of policemen arrived at the building to evict the displaced from the private property, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Middle East latest: Hezbollah fires rockets into central Israel

People take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets during the funeral of Alexei Popov, who was killed during a rocket attack fired from Lebanon last weekend, at the Tel Regev cemetery in the outskirts of Haifa, northern Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Middle East latest: Hezbollah fires rockets into central Israel

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — GG Jackson II never played alongside Ja Morant during his first NBA season and only watched the two-time All-Star take the court in nine games for the Memphis Grizzlies.

He saw enough to know now with Morant, the Grizzlies will be doing things differently.

“When we got the head of the snake out there, everybody’s role is definitely going to change,” Jackson said of Morant.

Morant is the point guard who makes the Grizzlies run — literally. Entering his sixth season in the NBA, the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2022 Most Improved Player who also earned a spot on the 2021-22 All-NBA team sets the breakneck pace that helped Memphis earn the Western Conference's No. 2 seed in back-to-back seasons.

Then the Grizzlies went 27-55 with Morant suspended the first 25 games by the NBA for his off-court behavior and drama before a shoulder injury that required surgery shut down thoughts about his return to the team

That may have been a blessing in disguise both for Morant and the Grizzlies. Morant got to sit back and look at what matters most to him. Morant credits the time spent away from basketball working to heal and strengthen his shoulder with also helping rearrange his priorities.

“I’m blessed to be in the position that I’m in to do what I love at the highest level," Morant said. "Being able to take care of my family and also putting them in positions to excel in whatever they want to do in life is my main goal. So all that’s going well right now. So I have no complaints.”

Nike, one of the sponsors who've stuck with Morant, has a new commercial out featuring the tag line “I get up” as both a nod to his athleticism and ability to bounce back from challenges.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins had to work through much more than just the suspension and injury to Morant last season. He got to see 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. hone his offensive skills along with GG Jackson and Vince Williams, who are both working through injuries that will keep them sidelined when Memphis opens the season Wednesday night at Utah.

Still, Morant is the dangerous one with his high-flying dunks, ability to get passes to open teammates and ability to finish at the basket. Jenkins said it's been fun to watch Morant's approach this offseason, especially once doctors cleared the guard in mid-July. Morant started working nonstop with his teammates, including an invite to rookie and two-time AP player of the year Zach Edey.

The point guard invited Edey to workouts during the summer, which helped as the 7-foot-4 center trim down to 290 pounds by the start of training camp.

Jenkins said Morant is eager about the beginning of the season..

“We all know that it’s an exciting time of the year,” Jenkins said. "We’ve got a group that we believe in, but there’s going to be certain individuals on the team that are going to have to lead the charge in our competitiveness, our togetherness and truly setting the tone of really getting better and holding ourselves accountable to that. He’s been locked in the conversations I’ve had with him, I’ve seen with his teammates. These guys are dialed in right now, especially him.”

Jaren Jackson, drafted fourth overall a year before Memphis took Morant at No. 2 in 2019, is just glad to have his teammate back healthy. Morant told reporters on media day he's also happy, which makes him a scary player to some in the NBA. Jackson said a healthy player is a confident player.

“He can be any emotion and he’s going to be great,” Jackson said.

The Grizzlies have built around Morant, Jackson and shooting guard Desmond Bane, and general manager Zach Kleiman believes they are just now entering their prime. It's why they drafted Edey at No. 9 overall to help a half-court offense that has struggled when opponents manage to slow down the Grizzlies. Jenkins has been busy creating plays to mix Morant, Jackson, Bane and 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart with Edey.

Morant remains the key. He averaged a career-best 27.4 points per game in the 2021-22 season, getting votes for league MVP in both 2022 and 2023. If he matches Basketball-Reference.com's projections averaging 28 points over 36 minutes this season, that would put the Grizzlies back in contention not only in the Western Conference but the NBA overall.

Staying on the court, whether by staying healthy or avoiding issues away from the arena, will be critical for Morant and the Grizzlies. The 6-foot-2, 174-pound guard has never played more than 67 games, and that was in his rookie season. He's also missed key games in each of Memphis' last two postseasons.

“Obviously, I want to be out there every game," Morant said. "So now my main focus is to be able to do that.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, right, talks with center Zach Edey, left, of Canada, in the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman)

From left, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jake LaRavia, guard Ja Morant and forward Jaylen Wells watch their teammates play in the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman)