Lebanon, militants are considering proposed deal to end the conflict BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press
MIDDLE EAST
BEIRUT -- Israeli ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago before pulling back Saturday after battles with Hezbollah militants, Lebanese state media reported.
The clashes and further Israeli bombardment came as Lebanese and Hezbollah officials study a draft proposal presented by the U.S. on ending the war.
A copy of the draft proposal was handed over to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said Berri is expected to give Lebanon's response Monday.
Israeli troops briefly captured a strategic hill in the village of Chamaa, about 3 miles from the border, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said Israeli troops blew up the Shrine of Shimon the Prophet in Chamaa as well as several homes, but that could not be immediately verified.
Israel's military said its troops continue "limited, localized" operations in southern Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, and several other areas including the port city of Tyre. An airstrike on the northeastern village of Khraibeh killed a couple and their four children, the National News Agency said.
Shrapnel from a strike in Dahiyeh wounded a teenage girl in the head and she was in intensive care, a hospital official said on condition of anonymity.
Israel's military said it hit multiple sites used by Hezbollah.
Since late September, Israel dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to severely weaken the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and end its barrages in Israel that the militants said are in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
Israel's military said a synagogue was struck and two civilians hurt in a "heavy rocket barrage" by Hezbollah on Haifa, northern Israel's largest city. Police said they were lightly injured. Israel said Hezbollah fired more than 60 projectiles into Israel on Saturday. There was no immediate Hezbollah statement.
More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire -- 80% of them in the past eight weeks -- according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Israel said it wants to ensure that thousands of Israelis can return to their homes near the border with Lebanon. Israel's military said a soldier died in combat Friday in Lebanon.
In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike Saturday evening on a U.N.-run school sheltering displaced people killed 10 and wounded 20, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. It said two missiles were fired at the Abu Assi School in the Shati refugee camp on the edge of Gaza City. A strike on a house in Nuseirat killed at least seven, including a child and three women.
The war between Israel and Hamas began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people -- mostly civilians -- and abducting 250 others.
At least 43,799 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which said more than half of those killed were women and children.