Israel Battles on Multiple Fronts as Conflict Risks Spreading

Israeli forces battled on four fronts Wednesday, hitting targets in Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza and fighting off a sea incursion, in a new sign the war with Hamas was slowly expanding to Iran-backed forces around the region.

The Israeli Air Force bombed roadblocks in Gaza that it said Hamas used to stop civilians fleeing from Gaza City to the south. Israeli jet fighters struck Syrian military sites and the Aleppo International airport after two rockets were fired at Israel, killing eight Syrian soldiers, Syrian state media said. Neither claim could be immediately verified.

The strikes were part of a flurry of exchanges that included a deadly Israeli drone strike in the West Bank on Wednesday morning and continued skirmishes with Iran-backed militants near the Lebanese border. Late Tuesday night, Israel said militants had tried to infiltrate Israel by sea near the Gaza border, but were beaten back by jet fighters and the Israeli navy. Hamas also said Wednesday it had struck targets inside Nahal Oz kibbutz, near Gaza’s eastern border, with mortar shells.