The Middle East moved closer to a long-feared regional war Wednesday, a day after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel and Israel said it began limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late Tuesday to retaliate against Iran. An Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel retaliates against Iran’s territory.
The United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict.
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Israel Says 8 Soldiers Killed in Clashes With Hezbollah
Israel said on Wednesday eight of its soldiers were killed in combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbor in a campaign against the Hezbollah terrorist group.
The losses were the deadliest suffered by the Israeli military on the Lebanon front in the past year of border-area clashes between Israel and its Iranian-backed Lebanese foe.
Hezbollah said its members were engaging Israeli forces inside Lebanon on Wednesday, reporting ground clashes for the first time since Israeli forces pushed over the border. Hezbollah said it had destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks with rockets near the border town of Maroun El Ras.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a condolence video, said: “We are at the height of a difficult war against Iran’s Axis of Evil, which wants to destroy us.
“This will not happen because we will stand together and with God’s help, we will win together,” he said.
The Israeli military said regular infantry and armored units were joining its ground operations in Lebanon, a day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles into Israel, a barrage which raised concerns that the oil-producing Middle East could be caught up in a wider conflict.
Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley—its biggest ever assault on Israel—was over barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back hard.
Germany Evacuates 130 More German Nationals Out of Lebanon
Germany is flying another 130 of its citizens out of Lebanon on a military plane.
The foreign and defense ministries said the Airbus A330 belonging to the Multinational Multi Role Tanker Transport Unit—an international air transport fleet—was sent to Beirut Wednesday to bring back “particularly endangered” Germans.
They said in a statement that the plane delivered 5 tons of aid including medical equipment to the Lebanese capital.
On Monday, a German military plane flew 111 people from Beirut to Berlin, including families of German diplomats, nonessential staff and others.
The ministries said further flights would be prepared as needed.
S&P Downgrades Israel’s Credit Rating
Israel’s credit rating has been downgraded for the second time in less than a week, underscoring the heightened risks for its economy as conflict escalates in the region.
S&P Global lowered Israel’s long-term sovereign credit rating on Tuesday.
“We now consider that military activity in Gaza and an upsurge in fighting across Israel’s northern border—including a ground incursion into Lebanon—could persist into 2025, with risks of retaliation against Israel,” S&P wrote.
“The latter in particular has been highlighted by [Tuesday’s] missile attack on Israel by Iran.”
The S&P says it expects delayed economic recovery into the coming year.
Tuesday’s downgrade moves S&P’s credit rating for Israel from “A+” to “A,” signaling a more negative outlook for Israel’s economy but still an investment grade.
On Friday, Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit rating from “A2” to “Baa1.” That is also still considered investment grade, three notches above “junk” status.
US Sanctions Iranian Man and Chinese Firms Accused of Helping Houthis
The United States has imposed sanctions on an Iranian man and three Chinese firms that Washington believes helped the Houthi terrorist group acquire materials needed to manufacture and deploy advanced missiles and drones against the United States and its allies.
Iranian citizen Hasan Ahmad Hasan Muhammad al-Kuhlani is named in the sanctions announced Wednesday. He is accused of facilitating weapons smuggling for the Houthis.
Treasury’s Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith says the Houthis “continue to leverage their networks of companies and procurement operatives to sustain their reckless attacks on civilian vessels, their unarmed crews, and civilian populations.”
UN Chief Demands End to Violence in Middle East
The United Nations chief is demanding a halt to the escalation of “tit-for-tat violence” that he warned is leading people in the Middle East “straight over the cliff.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday that in just a week the alarming situation in Lebanon has gone from bad “to much, much worse.”
“It is absolutely essential to avoid an all-out war in Lebanon, which would have profound and devastating consequences,” he said.
Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack against Israel. He also criticized attacks against Israel by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon, and he lambasted Israel for the “most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general”—referring to the conflict in Gaza in response to the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attacks.
“It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza,” he said. “It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon … It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff.”
Israel Eases Restrictions on Public Gatherings Near Lebanese Border
Israel has eased restrictions on gatherings for its residents living in the country’s north near the Lebanese border.
The Home Front Command said up to 50 residents can gather in outside spaces in northern Galilee and the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Gatherings of up to 250 people are allowed in closed spaces.
In the coastal Haifa area, outside gatherings of up to 60 people are allowed, it said Wednesday.
Limits on gatherings were imposed because of near-daily fire by Hezbollah into northern Israel, where evacuation orders for Lebanese living closest to the border remain in place.
Hezbollah Says It Killed and Wounded Israeli Soldiers in Lebanon Clashes
Hezbollah says its terrorists killed and wounded an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers in clashes in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said they detonated an explosive device as Israeli troops tried to cross deeper into Lebanon toward the southern village of Yaroun on Wednesday.
Hezbollah did not provide a breakdown of the alleged Israeli casualties and there was no immediate reaction from the Israeli military, which earlier announced the death of a soldier—the first to be killed in the ground incursion.
Israeli Military Announces Its First Combat Death in Lebanon Incursions
The Israeli military has announced its first combat death since launching ground operations in Lebanon this week.
The military said Wednesday that Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, a 22-year-old in a commando brigade, was killed in combat in Lebanon.
The military didn’t immediately provide other details.
UN Chief Barred from Entering Israel
Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz has barred UN Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country.
In an Oct. 2 statement on social media platform X, Katz declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres “persona non grata” in Israel, accusing him of being biased against the country.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” Katz said.
The minister said that Guterres has “yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization.”
7 Died in Tuesday’s Shooting Attack in Tel Aviv: Israeli Police
Israeli police said on Wednesday that a total of seven people were killed in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening minutes before the Iranian missile barrage.
Two Palestinian men from the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron opened fire in the Jaffa neighborhood of Tel Aviv, including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a station.
Police said the two had no prior arrests though one had been involved in disturbing the peace at a demonstration. The two men were shot and killed by security guards and armed pedestrians.
Police and paramedics who responded to the scene treated another 16 people injured from the shooting as sirens blared across the country.
On Wednesday, locals left flowers and candles at the train stop, where bullet holes peppered the signs and train stop benches.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Slams US and European Presence in the Mideast
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed the presence of American and European nations in the Middle East in his first remarks since Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel.
Khamenei said on Wednesday that their presence is a source of “conflicts, wars, concerns and enmities” but made no mention of the missile attack the night before.
Iran has long seen the U.S. troop presence on its doorstep as a threat and demanded their evacuation from neighboring Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
Israeli Military Warns Lebanese to Evacuate 24 Villages in South
The Israeli military has warned people to evacuate another 24 villages across southern Lebanon.
The warning on Wednesday came days after the military launched what it said were limited ground operations near the border to combat the Hezbollah terrorist group.
The villages are in a U.N.-declared buffer zone established after Israel and Hezbollah fought their last war in 2006.
Spain to Evacuate 350 Spanish Citizens from Lebanon
Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles says that her government will send two military planes to evacuate 350 Spanish citizens from Lebanon.
Robles said the planes will depart Spain on Thursday “if conditions in the airspace allow it.”
The announcement came a day after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares urged Spaniards in Lebanon to leave the country and for Israel to stop its assault.
Spain also has 676 soldiers in Lebanon deployed under a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
France Is Committed to Israel’s Protection: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated France’s commitment to Israel’s protection and said Paris has “mobilized its military resources in the Middle East to counter the Iranian threat,” according to a statement from the French presidency on Wednesday.
French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet would not comment on military resources deployed after Iran has fired a barrage of missiles at Israel Tuesday. In April, France said its forces in the Middle East have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones targeting Israel.
Macron condemned Iran’s attack on Israel “in the strongest terms” and called on all countries involved in “the dangerous escalation of tensions” in the Middle East “to show the greatest restraint.” He reiterated France’s demand that “Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population,” according to the statement.
The French president also called on Israel “to end its military operations (in Lebanon) as soon as possible” because “too many civilians have already become victims.”
South Korea to Evacuate Citizens from Conflict Areas in Middle East
South Korea plans to send military aircraft to evacuate its citizens from conflict areas in the Middle East as he called a meeting to discuss the impact of intensified fighting in the region, President Yoon Suk Yeol said.
Yoon’s government on Wednesday didn’t immediately provide more details about its evacuation plan, including how and when it would be carried out or the possible number of Koreans who could be flown home.
There are reportedly about 480 South Korean nationals living in Israel, 130 in Lebanon and 110 in Iran.
Germany’s Chancellor Calls on Iran and Hezbollah to stop Attacks on Israel
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling on Iran and Hezbollah to stop their attacks on Israel and says Tehran is risking a wider regional conflagration.
Scholz issued a statement on Wednesday strongly condemning Iran’s missile barrage against Israel the previous evening. He said that “with this, Iran is risking setting the whole region on fire—that must be prevented under all circumstances. Hezbollah and Iran must cease their attacks on Israel immediately.”
The chancellor added that Germany will continue to push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, which he said must lead toward full implementation of a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for Hezbollah to withdraw from the area near the Israeli border.
UK Helped Israel Repel Iranian Missiles
The U.K. defense chief said Britain’s military helped Israel repel a missile attack from Iran.
Writing on X, Defense Secretary John Healey said British forces “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.”
He did not give details of U.K. involvement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. supports Israel’s right to self defense, stating that “Iran has menaced the Middle East for far too long.”
Epoch Times reporter Owen Evans and The Associated Press contributed to this report.