Eight Israeli soldiers fell in battle on Oct. 2, the second day of Israeli ground operations inside southern Lebanon.
The eight soldiers, whose deaths were confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), are the first Israeli casualties since the IDF announced ground operations within Lebanon in the early morning hours on Oct. 1.
Hezbollah—a U.S. and Israeli-designated terrorist group—claimed to have wounded and killed dozens of Israeli troops conducting cross-border operations.
The IDF has intensified air strikes and launched ground incursions into Lebanon in an effort to drive Hezbollah back north, across the Litani River.
Hezbollah began launching drone and missile attacks across northern Israel last October, setting off a cross-border skirmish that has intensified over the past year.
If the IDF can push Hezbollah further north, and destroy their weapons caches, they could diminish the Lebanese faction’s ability to continue striking Israel.
Still, the Israeli operations in Lebanon face other challenges.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched around 180 ballistic missiles against Israel on Oct. 1, just hours after the IDF announced their cross-border operations against Hezbollah.
Iran has been a long-standing supporter of Hezbollah. The IRGC claimed the Tuesday missile barrage was in retaliation for the IDF strike that killed Hezbollah’s political leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27, as well as a suspected Israeli strike that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
Israel hasn’t claimed responsibility for killing Haniyeh.
No Israelis were killed in the Iranian missile barrage.
Two Hamas gunmen managed to infiltrate Israel and carry out a mass shooting attack along a light-rail line in Tel Aviv-Jaffa on Oct. 1, around the same time as the Iranian attack. The shooting left seven dead, and several others injured.
It remains to be seen how Israel will adjust in its multi-front fight with Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas.
President Joe Biden has said he is “fully supportive” of Israel following the Iranian missile attack. He and other leaders of the Group of Seven nations, on Oct. 2, signaled they would also coordinate their responses to the Iranian barrage, “including new sanctions.”
Biden has urged restraint in other aspects of the response. Asked whether Israel should strike Iranian nuclear facilities, the president insisted, “The answer is no.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged the Biden administration “to coordinate an overwhelming response with Israel,” and suggested the response start with Iranian oil refineries.
Speaking with reporters on Oct. 2, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated Biden’s opposition to striking Iranian nuclear facilities, but indicated other actions may be on the table.
“Israel, of course, has a response, and we’re going to continue to discuss with them what that response might look like, but we don’t want to see any action that would lead to a full blown regional war,” Miller said.
—Ryan Morgan
BOOKMARKS
A federal judge unsealed a 165-page filing by special counsel Jack Smith outlining evidence in the election case against former President Donald Trump.
Instagram parent company Meta can face a class-action suit for harming children, a California District Court Judge has ruled. The lawsuit cites internal documents from Facebook, which rus Instagram, that said “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls.”
The city of Abilene, Texas will temporarily cease adding fluoride to its drinking water, after a federal judge ordered the EPA to study its effects on children. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen made the ruling following a report by the federal National Toxicology Program showing a possible link between high fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a plane crash in North Carolina’s Outer Banks last week, killing all five people on board. Witnesses said the plane appeared to be landing at Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport, when it circled and crashed into nearby trees and burst into flames.
The State Department has announced the U.S. will not run for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council this year. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. would allow Spain, Iceland, and Switzerland to take the three empty seats on the Council this year, but “we will continue to remain engaged on human rights issues and are currently slated to run again in 2028.”
A boat carrying nearly 300 people capsized in Abuja, Nigeria this week, and authorities say over 100 are still missing though the search effort continues. The locally-crafted boat, which was only meant to hold 100 passengers, went under while transporting residents who had just finished attending a festival.
—Stacy Robinson
