At the heart of the recent escalation is the the nearly yearlong war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Palestinian officials say Israel launched air and ground operations in the territory’s southern city of Khan Younis early Wednesday, killing more than 50 people.
Israeli forces are meanwhile carrying out what they say are limited ground incursions into southern Lebanon. Hezbollah said Wednesday that its fighters had battled troops near the border, and the Israeli military announced that eight of its soldiers, including at least one commando, had been killed in the fighting.Iran’s decision to launch some 180 missiles at Israel came after its militant allies, known as the Axis of Resistance, suffered a series of major blows in recent weeks.