Killing of Hamas leader in Lebanon stokes escalation fears

JERUSALEM — The chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service vowed today that the agency would hunt down every Hamas member involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, no matter where they are. His pledge came a day after the deputy head of the Palestinian militant group was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut.

Israel has refused to comment on reports it carried out the killing, but the remarks by David Barnea appeared to be the strongest indication yet it was behind the blast. He made a comparison to the aftermath of the slayings at the Munich Olympics in 1972, when Mossad agents tracked down and killed Palestinian militants involved in killing Israeli athletes.

“It’ll take time, as it took time after the Munich massacre, but we will put our hands on them wherever they are,” he said at the funeral of former Mossad head Zvi Zamir, who died at age 98 a day earlier.

Barnea said the Mossad is “committed to settling accounts with the murderers who raided the Gaza envelope,” referring to the area of southern Israel that Hamas attacked. He vowed to pursue everyone involved, “directly or indirectly,” including “planners and envoys.”

Hezbollah announced that nine of its fighters were killed today, making it one of the deadliest days for the group since Oct. 8, according to the group's statements.

Previously, Hezbollah was hardest-hit on Oct. 24, when it also lost nine fighters, it said.

The group did not provide details about how the fighters died. The IDF said it targeted a group in Yaroun, Lebanon, after the military said it had identified several launches from Lebanon toward northern Israel.

Hezbollah released 11 statements today about missiles it launched, six of which it claims resulted in casualties.

Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, warned in a speech today that if Israel escalates tensions into war with the group, its fighters will react without "limits, rules and controls."

Nasrallah referred to the fatal drone strike in Beirut targeting the home of a Hamas leader yesterday as a crime, blaming Israel for the attack, although the country has not publicly taken responsibility. He threatened Israel by saying that if the country wants war, Hezbollah is ready to take action.

"In the axis of resistance, no one dictates anything to anyone else, and everyone makes decisions in a manner consistent with the strategic vision and the interest of his country," Nasrallah said.

Hezbollah first launched an attack upon northern Israel on Oct. 8 and has been exchanging fire with Israel along the shared border with Lebanon out of what it described as solidarity with Palestinians. Lebanese officials have said they are in dialogue with Hezbollah, asking that the group not escalate the conflict after the Beirut strike to avoid the country's being dragged into a regional war.

JOLIET, Ill. — The father of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was stabbed to death in a Chicago suburb said today through a translator that he “has mixed feelings, knowing the same country that supports Israel unconditionally is the country that is supposed to serve him and his son justice.”

Odai Al Fayoumi spoke to reporters and about 40 friends and family members who held a candlelight vigil before a court appearance for the man accused of the killing last fall. Wadee Al Fayoumi was stabbed 26 times, and his mother was also severely injured. Al Fayoumi said his wife was recovering and doing "fine."

Prosecutors have said Joseph Czuba targeted the two because of their Muslim faith. Czuba has pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder and hate crime charges.

Al Fayoumi said his heart is weighed down with immense grief for his child. “Let his life inspire us to reject bigotry and to embrace the diversity that makes our nation so beautiful,” he said through a translator.

Before he spoke, a local imam led a prayer in Arabic. Maggie Slavin, the operations manager of CAIR-Chicago, said the pursuit of justice for Wadee is intertwined with combatting Islamophobia and advocating for the rights of Muslim Americans.

“A just and lasting cease-fire in Palestine is essential for regional stability and for global peace,” she said.

Ongoing attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels on vessels moving through the Red Sea have pushed companies to make costly changes, Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, said in an address to the United Nations' Security Council.

"A significant number of companies, around 18 shipping companies have already decided to re-route their vessels around south Africa in order to reduce the attacks on vessels and of course the impact this has on seafarers in particular," Dominguez said.

According to Dominguez, the decision to change routes adds more than a week to the journeys and will increase freight rates. The Red Sea is a vital commercial route that accounts for an estimated 15% of international shipping trade.

The United Nations convened an emergency session of the Security Council today to discuss the increasing attacks by the Houthi rebels and the threat on maritime safety.

Israel's military is in a "very high state of readiness" in the north, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told soldiers today during an assessment of the country's border with Lebanon.

"I visit here often. I think our readiness is at its peak," Halevi said. "There is a lot of expertise, great capabilities and high morale. We are in very high readiness in all sectors and we are currently focusing on fighting Hamas."

Halevi's visit comes amid increased fear that the conflict with Hamas will spill into Lebanon and trigger a larger regional war. Yesterday, a drone strike targeting a Hamas leader's apartment in a Beirut suburb killed seven people.

Lebanese officials, Hamas and Hezbollah placed blame on Israel for the drone strike, but Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike.

Although the Lebanese government is not in control of Hezbollah, officials believe that the militant group will work to avoid dragging the country into a regional war with Israel, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abadallah Bou Habib told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

“We hope they don’t commit themselves to a larger war, but we are working with them on this,” Habib said. “And we have a lot of reasons to think that this will not happen.”

Habib's interview comes after a drone strike targeted the apartment of a Hamas leader in a suburb of Beirut yesterday, which according to Hamas killed seven of its members. Israel has not confirmed or denied whether it was responsible, though Hamas, Hezbollah and Lebanese officials have placed blame on the country's military.

The strike has drawn fears that the current conflict between Hamas and Israel will spill out of Gaza and expand into a regional war.

Civil defense workers clean up the scene and inspect a vehicle that was damaged near the building hit by a strike that yesterday killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon's capital.

Israeli finance minister and far-right politician Bezalel Smotrich said a majority of the Israeli population supports a solution that involves the migration of Gazans to other countries.

The comments were made in a post on X today after the U.S. called his suggestion "irresponsible."

Smotrich said Israel cannot live in a reality where 2 million people who long for Israel's destruction are minutes away.

Yesterday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller called the rhetoric "inflammatory and irresponsible."

"We have been clear, consistent and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no terror groups able to threaten Israel," Miller said.