Israel, Hezbollah Declare 'New Phase' as Missiles Fly

Against a backdrop of escalating missile and rocket attacks across the Lebanon border, Israel and Hezbollah declared their resolve Sunday to defeat the other and stoked fears that the Middle East is on the brink of a full-blown war. President Biden told reporters that he's worried but that "we're going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out." A White House aide acknowledged that "the tensions are much higher now than they were even just a few days ago," the New York Times reports. In a Beirut suburb, a 50-year-old woman said, "I have been to 15 funerals this week." Developments include:

• Airstrikes: Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets early Sunday from Lebanon into northern Israel, some of which landed near the city of Haifa, where several people were wounded. Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon, per the AP. Lebanon's Health Ministry said three people were killed and four wounded in strikes near the Israeli border. Israeli strikes have killed dozens since Friday.

• Diplomacy: John Kirby, Biden's national security spokesman, said on ABC's This Week that White House officials have told Israeli officials that escalating the fighting with Hezbollah is not "in their best interest." Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN envoy for Lebanon, posted on X, "With the region on the brink of an imminent catastrophe, it cannot be overstated enough: there is NO military solution that will make either side safer."
• Hezbollah's threats: The militant group's deputy leader said Sunday that it has entered "a new phase" of its battle with Israel, per the Washington Post. Speaking at the funeral for a top commander killed Friday in an Israeli strike, Naim Qassem said an "open-ended battle of reckoning" has begun that won't end until there is a cease-fire in Gaza. "We are prepared to confront all military possibilities," he said.
• Israel's threats: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded statement on Sunday that his country will take "whatever action is necessary" to neutralize the risk posed by Hezbollah. He said Israel had inflicted "a series of blows" that the group hadn't anticipated. "If Hezbollah didn't understand the message, I promise you it will understand the message," he said. The military's chief of staff said, "Our strikes will intensify."

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