Israel’s air force bombed 10 areas of Lebanon overnight in response to a rocket barrage from the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah, as hopes for a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continued to fade.
The US and Arab nations view a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and free the roughly 100 Israeli hostages still being held there by Hamas as the best way to prevent an all-out regional war erupting in the Middle East.
However, despite an intense diplomatic push by US officials, significant gaps remain between Israel and Hamas, and in recent days, as the hopes of a deal have waned, the exchanges of fire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hizbollah have intensified.