Hezbollah says it launches attack on Israel with large number of drones in response to killing of commander in Beirut

Lebanon's health care system in tatters but still preparing for a possible wider war with Israel

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s crisis-battered health care system is now preparing for the possibility of a devastating wider conflict with Israel, the country’s health minister told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. Israel's military and Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah...

Earthquake strikes Syria, rattling nerves amid memories of last year's deadly temblor

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An earthquake shook central Syria late Monday, local authorities said, causing no major damages but rattling the nerves of residents who remembered last year’s devastating temblor that struck northern Syria and Turkey. Syria’s National Center for...

Israel-Hamas war latest: Palestinians flee parts of south Gaza as Israel launches a new assault

Palestinians are fleeing large areas around Khan Younis in southern Gaza where the Israeli military began a new assault after ordering another mass evacuation. Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, suffered widespread destruction during air and ground operations earlier in the...

In Israel and Lebanon, life goes on even as the region teeters on the edge of all-out war

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — In Beirut, shops are open and traffic is as snarled as ever. In Tel Aviv, cafes hum with patrons and umbrellas sprout across crowded beaches. Such scenes may seem surreal in a region teetering on the edge of all-out war — and beneath the surface there is...

Four years after the Beirut port blast, many decry stalled justice as regional tensions spike

BEIRUT (AP) — Four years ago, Helen Ata got a call from someone she didn't know telling her that a massive explosion at the Beirut port had caused her building to collapse. Her brothers were trapped under the rubble. One of them, Issam, survived, with a permanent disability in his...

Mourners bury Hamas chief Haniyeh in Qatar as more escalation looms over the Middle East

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of mourners converged around the flag-draped coffin of Hamas' slain political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in the emirate of Qatar on Friday as the fallout surged from his death in an alleged Israeli attack. The funeral ceremony in Doha, Qatar's capital,...

For Iran and Hezbollah, calibrating response to Israeli strikes leaves no room for error

BEIRUT (AP) — Two back-to-back strikes in Beirut and Tehran, both attributed to Israel and targeting high-ranking figures in Hamas and Hezbollah, have left Hezbollah and Iran in a quandary. Analysts agree that both strikes hit too close to home to pass without a response, and were...

Hezbollah confirms a top commander was killed in Israeli strike in Beirut

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed Wednesday that Israel killed a top commander after a rare strike in Beirut. The Iran-backed group said earlier that Fouad Shukur was in the building during the attack on Tuesday, and they were searching for him in the...

Hamas' top political leader is killed in Iran in strike that risks triggering all-out regional war

BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas' top political leader was killed Wednesday by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital, Iran and the militant group said, blaming Israel for a shock assassination that risked escalating into an all-out regional war. Iran's supreme leader vowed revenge against Israel. ...