Israel Intensifies Strikes in Lebanon and Gaza Amid Escalating Conflict

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported targeting over 160 sites across Lebanon and Gaza within the past 24 hours, escalating the conflict in the region. Israeli ground forces made their deepest incursion into Lebanon since the start of the conflict but withdrew after clashes with Hezbollah militants. Meanwhile, 70 rockets have been fired into northern Israel from Lebanon since midnight, causing property damage and casualties among livestock.

In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes reportedly forced nearly 90 percent of residents to flee their homes, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Medics in Gaza reported that a strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed 10 and injured 20 others. The Hamas-controlled health ministry claims over 43,799 Palestinians have been killed and more than 103,601 injured since the war began.

The conflict has also spilled into Syria, where two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus. This attack has further heightened regional tensions. In the West Bank, settlers allegedly attacked a Palestinian village near Nablus, setting fire to homes and vehicles.

The war, which began after Hamas’s attack on October 7, killing over 1,200 Israelis and injuring 3,300, has drawn widespread international attention. Calls for a cease-fire and the release of hostages held by Hamas, including foreign nationals, continue to mount.

The situation remains dire as Israel faces both external conflict and internal political turmoil, with protests against judicial reforms and rising violence between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank further complicating the crisis.