Lebanon's Hezbollah launched a big rocket and drone attack at Israel on Thursday (July 4) and threatened to hit new targets in retaliation for the killing of a top commander, in the latest surge of violence in the steadily worsening conflict across the border.

Acre

There are fears that a larger war could break out between Israel and Hezbollah.

Tensions at Israel-Lebanon border

Lebanon's Hezbollah launched a substantial rocket and drone assault on Israel. The attack is in retaliation for the assassination of a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon. This escalation of violence has contributed to the ongoing conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border, which has heightened fears of a full-scale war.

Hezbollah officials, including senior figure Hisham Safieddin, have indicated plans to expand their target list in response to the commander's killing. Israel has responded with air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, causing sonic booms and heightened tension in the region. The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to prevent a further escalation of hostilities.

The escalating violence has forced significant displacement on both sides of the frontier, with many Lebanese and Israelis evacuating their homes. The conflict, initially sparked by tensions in Gaza, continues to pose a severe threat to regional stability.



Hezbollah launches rocket and drone barrage on Israel

Smoke billows from the roof of a mall in the northern Israeli city of Acre. After a rocket barrage launched from Lebanon was intercepted overhead, a video obtained by Reuters showed. Reuters was able to corroborate the video. Lebanon's Hezbollah launched a major rocket and drone attack on Israel on Thursday and threatened to hit new targets in retaliation for the killing of a top commander a day earlier in the south of the country. The latest surge of violence in the steadily worsening border conflict. Sparked by Gaza, the conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel has raised fears of a full-scale war, which both sides have indicated they want to avoid and diplomatic efforts, led by the United States, are working to prevent. Mohammed Nasser was one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders Israel has killed during the conflict. Senior Hezbollah official Hisham Safieddin, speaking at a memorial for him, said the group would widen its targets after his killing. The series of responses continues in succession and this series will continue to target new sites that the enemy did not imagine would be hit. Sonic booms rattled nerves for the second day in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon as Israeli jets broke the sound barrier, Lebanese state media reported. Hezbollah said it launched more than 200 rockets and a swarm of drones at 10 Israeli military sites on Thursday. The Israeli military distributed videos it said showed interceptions as well as strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The hostilities have inflicted a heavy toll on both sides of the frontier, forcing tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israelis to flee their homes. For more UN videos visit www.un.org

Polling stations opened across France on Sunday morning in a second-round vote that could see the country heading for a chaotic hung parliament or its first far-right government since World War Two.

Paris

France votes as the far-right seeks power

A Sydney house fire has resulted in the tragic deaths of three young children. Four survivors, including their mother, are receiving treatment at Westmead Hospital. Authorities suspect foul play, and the children's father is under police guard.

Lalor Park

Three children killed in Sydney house fire

At least 65 people have been killed in floods and landslides in India’s northeastern Assam State. Authorities say 2,800 villages are submerged, with over 1.6 million people affected.

Assam

Climate Crisis

Dozens killed in India flooding, landslides

Israeli police have used water cannon against antigovernment protesters in Tel Aviv, as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down. Demonstrators are calling for new elections, and the immediate release of captives held in Gaza.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

Israeli demonstrators launch week of protests

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will not continue with the previous Conservative government’s policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, in a move welcomed by rights advocates as long overdue.

London

Starmer to scrap UK's refugee deportation plan

Hamas has accepted a U.S. proposal to begin talks on releasing Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war, a senior Hamas source told Reuters.

Hamas accepts U.S. proposal on talks over hostages

U.S. officials are warning that storm Beryl could regain strength and hit Texas as a category three hurricane. Beryl was downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting Mexico, leaving a trail of destruction and thousands without power.

Tulum

Hurricane Beryl

Hurricane Beryl heading towards Texas

U.S. President Joe Biden says last week's debate against Donald Trump 'wasn't his best performance' but vowed to still beat Trump in November's election. He made the comments at a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Madison

U.S. Presidential Election

Biden in battleground blitz, staying 'in the race'

Parts of Australia are set for winter drenching with an entire season's worth of rain forecast over the next few days. The Bureau of Meteorology will continue to extend to parts of central Australia - before moving east.

Council of the City of Sydney

Sections of Australia facing widespread heavy rains

With his re-election campaign in crisis, U.S. President Joe Biden is hoping an interview with ABC News will convince Americans, and fellow Democrats, that he is indeed fit to run after a disastrous debate performance.

Washington

Biden fights to salvage campaign with high-stakes interview

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, amid criticism from the European Union. Putin declaring it was Kyiv, not the Kremlin that is still not willing to end the conflict.

Moscow

UK General Election

‘Peace mission’: Hungary’s Orban meets Putin in Russia

After meeting with King Charles, Britain’s new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged a national ‘reset’ by bringing ‘stability and moderation’ to the United Kingdom after 14 years of often-chaotic Conservative Party rule.

Starmer promises ‘reset’ U.K. after chaotic Tory rule

Labour leader Keir Starmer has officially become the U.K.'s new prime minister with his party winning more than 400 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, the lower house of Britain's parliament. The landslide victory ends 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

Keir Starmer officially appointed U.K.'s prime minister

U.S. President Joe Biden is hoping a televised interview will steady his imperiled reelection bid -- but a repeat of his disastrous debate performance could be his downfall. In the week since his debate against Donald Trump, 81-year-old Biden has failed to quell panic among his Democratic Party.

Biden seeks campaign reset with high-risk TV interview

Beryl has made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane about 10 kilometers northeast of Mexico's Caribbean coast resort of Tulum with maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h.

Cancún

Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Mexico near Cancun

Britain's next prime minister, Keir Starmer, promised change early on Friday (July 5), as the Conservatives' Rishi Sunak conceded defeat, with Starmer's center-left Labour Party on course to win a huge majority in the country's parliamentary elections.

U.K.'s Starmer vows change as Labour sweeps to power

Keir Starmer is set to become the UK Prime Minister after the Labour Party's significant election victory. They secured 410 seats, marking their first government role in 27 years, while the Conservative Party suffered its worst result since 1834.

Labour party wins majority in historic UK election

People in Mexico’s popular Yucatan Peninsula are bracing for Hurricane Beryl as it roars toward them after smashing through the Caribbean and killing at least 10 people. The system has strengthened to a Category 3 storm.

Yucatan

Hurricane Beryl regains strength as it approaches Mexico

The European Union has imposed extra duties of up to 37.6 percent on imports of electric vehicles (EVs) made in China, the bloc announced, despite Beijing's warnings the movie would unleash a trade war. The European Commission said that the tariffs were put in place due to "unfair" state subsidies and will kick off Friday.

Beijing

E.U. imposes tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

Keir Starmer will be Britain's next prime minister with his Labour Party set to win a massive majority in a parliamentary election, an exit poll on Thursday (July 4) indicated, while Rishi Sunak's Conservatives are forecast to suffer historic losses. The poll showed Labour would win 410 seats in the 650-seat parliament, ending 14 years of Conservative-led government.

Exit poll shows UK's Labour set for huge election win

Britons were voting on Thursday (July 4) in a parliamentary election that is expected to bring Keir Starmer's Labour Party to power, sweeping away Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives after 14 often turbulent years.

Britain votes as Labour expected to sweep to power

Four people have been charged for a security breach after draping pro-Palestinian banners from the rooftop of Parliament. Meanwhile Labor Senator Fatima Payman has resigned from the party after disagreeing with the Albanese government over Palestine.

Canberra

Protestors climb on Parliament House rooftop; Senator Payman resigns

Hurricane Beryl pounded Jamaica with heavy rains and 200 km/h winds, knocking out power to much of the capital. Now churning toward Mexico, Beryl has already killed at least nine people and caused widespread destruction across the eastern Caribbean.

Kingston

Hurricane Beryl: Jamaica hit by powerful storm

Despite mounting pressure to step down after a dismal debate performance, Joe Biden will ‘absolutely not’ abandon the U.S. presidential race, the White House has announced. Biden reportedly told staffers, ‘I am running…. No one’s pushing me out.’

Defiant Biden remains in the Presidential race

Polls suggest Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is set to become Britain’s next prime minister with a majority government in Thursday’s national election. This would end 14 years of often tumultuous Conservative Party rule that saw Brexit, scandals and multiple leadership changes.

Watford

U.K.'s Labour Party expected to win in landslide

Hurricane Beryl surged over Jamaica Wednesday evening as a powerful Category 4 hurricane before heading to the Cayman Islands. Beryl has been blamed for at least six deaths in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Beryl batters Jamaica as Category 4

Hurricane Beryl struck Union Island, part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, overnight, leaving nearly everyone homeless. Grenada also faces devastation and communication systems are down after Beryl made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. Jamaica is preparing for Beryl's approach, with residents urged to evacuate vulnerable areas.

SEE THE FULL STORY