Ramstein Air Base, Germany — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rarely attends the security summits organized by his Western partners in person, but on Friday, he paid his first visit to the sprawling Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared in his opening remarks of the latest such meeting that “it is a critical moment” in the war ignited by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.

The gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group comes days after Zelenskyy’s nation suffered its single worst attack of the year, when two ballistic missiles slammed into a military academy in Poltava, killing dozens of people and wounding more than 170 others.

The meeting in Germany also comes on the heels of a wider, blistering Russian barrage of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. It comes after Ukraine announced the fatal crash of an F-16 fighter jet during that barrage. And it comes one month after Ukrainian forces invaded Russia’s western Kursk region, seizing hundreds of square miles of territory.

“The Kremlin’s army of aggression is now on the defensive on its own turf,” Austin said Friday of the Kursk offensive.

“This is the land from which Putin was preparing to expand the war into Ukrainian territory. He was preparing to launch a new offense against our city of Sumy,” said Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president has said controlling that Russian ground has created a buffer zone between President Vladimir Putin’s forces and Ukrainian territory. But if he was hoping the incursion would force Putin to divert his troops from the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, that hasn’t happened.

“This is a clear choice by Moscow,” Zelenskyy said. “Putin wants more Ukraine to occupy than human security. He doesn’t care about Russian land and people. He just wants to grab as much of our land and as many of our cities as possible.”

On the overnight flight from Andrews Airforce Base near Washington to Ramstein, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “CQ” Brown spoke of the Kursk incursion as just one part of Ukraine’s war strategy.

“What they’ve been able to do in Kursk is to be able to stay successful there and at the same time be able to protect their key lines of communication at Pokrovsk,” he said. “So, it’s a combination of us working with them to identify the capabilities that they have, how they use the forces that they do have, to be successful in both of those areas.”

Ukraine has been losing ground around Pokrovsk, however, and the fall of that logistics hub to Russia would threaten critical supply lines for Ukrainian forces already struggling to hold parts of the roughly 600-mile front line in eastern Ukraine.

It’s a vulnerability that U.S. forces are keeping a close eye on.

“The Russians have been pushing toward their defensive lines and [they’re] starting to gain territory, so what we’re really paying attention to is the rate of advance by the Russians, and when they can get into range of artillery,” said Brown. “This is something we’ll continue to watch on and continue to work with Ukrainians, [on] how to defend that territory.”

In his own opening remarks at Ramstein, Zelenskyy struck a familiar refrain, stressing that his country needs more air defense systems and more long-range weapons, and soon.

“Thank you so much again,” he told the gathered Western military commanders, “but the number of air defense systems have not yet been delivered easily. This is what was agreed upon, and this is what has not been fully delivered. The world has now systems to ensure that Russian terror does not have results.”

Zelenskyy’s government has publicly pressured the Biden administration to change its policy prohibiting Ukraine from launching strikes deep into Russia using American long-range weapons, such as Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) that the U.S. has already provided. 

Austin, during a news conference after Friday’s meeting, said no single weapon was decisive and that Ukraine, “has a pretty significant capability of its own to address targets that are well beyond the range of ATACMS.” 

He said Russia had moved aircraft that have been launching glide bombs with devastating effect against Ukrainian cities beyond the range of the ATACMS. When asked about the ability to strike other targets, not just aircraft or airfields, Austin said “there’s a lot of capability” that Ukraine already has, such as drones, “to address those targets.”

The summit at Ramstein is the 24th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, but it’s only the second one Zelenskyy has attended in person.

A major shakeup this week of his war-time cabinet has raised questions at home and among Western partners alike. It included the dismissal of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who had become the most familiar face of Ukraine’s foreign policy since the start of the war.

Even before the day of meetings got underway, Austin was the first of the allies to pledge additional support.

“I’m pleased to say that President Biden will announce today and additional $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine,” he said. “It will surge in more capabilities to meet Ukraine’s evolving requirements, and we’ll deliver them at the speed of war.”

The speed of the war is accelerating on both sides, however, and Zelenskyy has made it clear that his country can afford little time to wait.

Two NATO members said Sunday that Russian drones violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day.

A drone entered Romanian territory early Sunday as Moscow struck “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported. It added that Bucharest had deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts to residents of two eastern regions.

It also said investigations were underway of a potential “impact zone” in an uninhabited area along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Later on Sunday, Latvia’s Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said a Russian drone fell the day before near the town of Rezekne, and had likely strayed into Latvia from neighboring Belarus.

Rezekne, home to over 25,000 people, lies some 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Russia and around 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Belarus, the Kremlin’s close and dependent ally.

While the incursion into Latvian airspace appeared to be a rare incident, Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as recently as July this year.

Mircea Geoană, NATO’s outgoing deputy secretary-general and Romania’s former top diplomat, said Sunday morning that the military alliance condemned Russia’s violation of Romanian airspace. “While we have no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against Allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

Latvia’s military on Sunday similarly said there were no indications that Moscow or Minsk purposely sent a drone into the country. In a public statement, the military said it had identified the crash site, and that a probe was ongoing.

Sprūds, the Latvian defense minister, sought to downplay the significance of the drone incursion.

“I can confirm that there are no victims here and also no property is infringed in any way,” Defense Minister Andris Sprūds told the Latvian Radio on Sunday, adding that any risks in the event were immediately eliminated: “Of course, it is a serious incident, as it is once again a reminder of what kind of neighboring countries we live next to.”

Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the incursions “a reminder (that) the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation go beyond Ukraine’s borders.”

“The collective response of the Allies should be maximum support for Ukraine now, to put an end to (Russian aggression), protect lives and preserve peace in Europe,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

Civilians reported killed in Ukraine

In Ukraine, two civilians died and four more suffered wounds in a nighttime Russian airstrike on the northern city of Sumy, the regional military administration reported. Two children were among those wounded, the administration said. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed later on Sunday that its forces struck foreign pro-Kyiv fighters in a village on Sumy’s northern outskirts. It was not immediately clear whether this was a reference to the same attack.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine’s General Staff said that Russian troops continued to pound Sumy and the surrounding regions with airstrikes, and had lobbed at least 16 devastating “glide bombs” at the province by mid-afternoon. Russian forces shelled the city again during the day Sunday, wounding a teenager and a civilian man, the regional prosecutor’s office reported.

Three more women died Sunday after Russian forces shelled a village in the eastern Donetsk region, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on the Telegram messaging app. Separately, Russian shelling killed a woman on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city in the northeast, local authorities said.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 58 from the massive Russian missile strike that on Tuesday blasted a military academy and nearby hospital in the eastern city of Poltava, regional Gov. Filip Pronin reported. More than 320 others were wounded.

Since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to smash civilian targets, sometimes killing scores of people in a single attack.

Russian forces continued their monthlong grinding push toward the city of Pokrovsk, and also ramped up attacks near the town of Kurakhove farther south, Ukraine’s General Staff reported.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday its troops had taken Novohrodivka, a small town some 19 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk. An update published Saturday evening by DeepState, a Ukrainian battlefield analysis site, said Russian forces had “advanced” in Novohrodivka and captured Nevelske, a village in the southeast of the Pokrovsk district.

Pokrovsk, which had a prewar population of about 60,000, is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defense and supply routes, and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region.

Berlin raises prospect of peace talks with Russia

Also on Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agree that Moscow should be included in a future peace conference aimed at ending its invasion of Ukraine.

“There will certainly be a further peace conference, and the president (Zelenskyy) and I agree that it must be one with Russia present,” Scholz told Germany’s ZDF public television.

A previous peace conference June 15-16 in Switzerland ended with 78 countries expressing support for Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” but otherwise left the path forward unclear. Russia did not participate.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy did not immediately comment on Scholz’s remarks, but said in a video address Sunday that he had held “important negotiations” with the German leader and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He did not give details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that a decision by the U.S. or its NATO allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia would be viewed as NATO’s direct participation in the war, which he said would significantly change “the very nature of the conflict.”

“Flight assignments for these missile systems can, in fact, only be entered by military personnel from NATO countries. Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this. And therefore, it is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of making a decision whether NATO countries directly participate in the military conflict or not,” Putin said in response to a question on Thursday.

“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, in the war in Ukraine,” the Russian leader added.

U.S. officials told CBS News that Ukraine could assign targets without the direct participation of the U.S. or NATO.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been asking his Western partners to allow his country to fire long-range missiles supplied by the U.S. or Europe deep into Russian territory, including U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadows.

If the U.S. and Britain approve the move, it “will mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are fighting Russia,” Putin said. “And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us.”

When asked Friday whether the Kremlin had seen a reaction among Western powers to Putin’s statement, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said “the statement that Putin made yesterday is very important. It is extremely clear, unambiguous and does not allow for any double readings. And we have no doubt that this statement has reached its addressees.”

President Biden was expected to discuss the subject in a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington on Friday. Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Biden told reporters, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin,” when asked about the Russian president’s comments.

Ukraine used U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike at Russian airbases in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine on Tuesday after the U.S. secretly shipped variants of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) in recent weeks, according to U.S. officials. 

President Joe Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting at the White House last month that the U.S. would provide the ATACMS that Ukraine has sought for months. 

The Biden administration had been reluctant to send the missiles, which have a variety of ranges all the way up to 190 miles, because of the risk of escalation with Russia. 

The ATACMS variant Ukraine used Tuesday has a range of 100 miles and carries a cluster munition, a U.S. official said. Ukraine struck helicopters at airfields in Russia with the missiles. 

In a post on X, Ukraine’s special operation forces said the military carried out a strike on Russian air bases in Berdyansk and Luhansk. That post didn’t specify what weapons were used, but Zelenskyy, in his nightly address, thanked President Biden for the ATACMS. 

The Defense Department routinely announces the weapons and equipment the U.S. is providing, but it has apparently made an exception with the provision of the ATACMS. 

The ATACMS shipment follows a pattern the Biden administration has set throughout the war of initially resisting requests for certain capabilities only to eventually commit to providing them. Most notably, this was the case for Abrams tanks and training on F-16 fighter jets the U.S. has now promised Ukraine. 

U.S. officials have defended the choices by saying the U.S. is giving Ukraine the most urgent capabilities. In total, the Biden administration has provided Ukraine almost $44 billion in security assistance since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border.

It was the first time Zelenskyy clearly stated the aim of the operation, a stunning border incursion that was launched on Aug. 6. His comments came after Ukraine destroyed a key bridge in Russia’s Kursk region and struck a second one nearby, disrupting supply lines, officials said Sunday. 

Zelenskyy in his nightly address said that “it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory -– our operation in the Kursk region.”

The bridge attacks, apparently aimed at thwarting a Russian counter-push in Kursk, could mean that Kyiv intends to seek a foothold in the region.

Pro-Kremlin military bloggers acknowledged that the destruction of the first bridge on the Seim River near the town of Glushkovo will impede deliveries of supplies to Russian forces repelling Ukraine’s incursion, although Moscow could still use pontoons and smaller bridges. Ukraine’s air force chief, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, on Friday, released a video of an airstrike that cut the bridge in two.

Less than two days later, Ukrainian troops hit a second bridge in Russia, according to Oleshchuk and Russian regional Gov. Alexei Smirnov.

As of Sunday morning, there were no officials giving the exact location of the second bridge attack. But Russian Telegram channels claimed that a second bridge over the Seim, in the village of Zvannoe, had been struck.

According to Russia’s Mash news site, the attacks left only one intact bridge in the area. The Associated Press could not immediately verify these claims. If confirmed, the Ukrainian strikes would further complicate Moscow’s attempts to replenish its forces in Kursk and evacuate civilians.

Glushkovo is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) northwest of the main battle zone in Kursk. Zvannoe is located another 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the northwest.

Ukraine could try to hold the ground it has seized

Kyiv has said little about the scope and goals of its push into Russia with tanks and other armored vehicles, the largest attack on the country since World War II, which took the Kremlin by surprise and saw scores of villages and hundreds of prisoners fall into Ukrainian hands.

The Ukrainians drove deep into the Kursk region in several directions, facing little resistance and sowing chaos and panic as tens of thousands of civilians fled the area. Ukraine’s Commander in Chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed last week that his forces had advanced across 1,000 square kilometers (390 square miles) of the region, although it was not possible to independently verify what exactly Ukrainian forces effectively control.

Analysts say that although Ukraine could try to consolidate its gains inside Russia, it would be risky, given Kyiv’s limited resources, because its own supply lines extending deep into Kursk would be vulnerable.

The incursion has proven Ukraine’s ability to seize the initiative and has boosted its morale, which was sapped by a failed counteroffensive last summer and months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region.

The move into Kursk resembled Ukraine’s lightning operation from September 2022, led by Syrskyi, in which its forces reclaimed control of the northeastern Kharkiv region after taking advantage of Russian manpower shortages and a lack of field fortifications.

Zelenskyy seeks permission to strike deeper into Russia

On Saturday, Zelenskyy urged Kyiv’s allies to lift the remaining restrictions on using Western weapons to attack targets deeper in Russia, including in Kursk, saying his troops could deprive Moscow “of any ability to advance and cause destruction” if granted sufficient long-range capabilities.

“It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands. … The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions from our partners,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the social platform X.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry and pro-Kremlin bloggers have alleged that U.S.-made HIMARS launchers have been used to destroy bridges on the Seim. These claims could not be independently verified.

Ukraine’s leaders have repeatedly sought authorization for long-range strikes on Russian air bases and other infrastructure used to pummel Ukraine’s energy facilities and other civilian targets, including with retrofitted Soviet-era “glide bombs” that have laid waste to Ukraine’s industrial east in recent months.

Moscow also appears to have increased attacks on Kyiv, targeting it Sunday with ballistic missiles for a third time this month, according to the head of the municipal military administration. Serhii Popko said in a Telegram post that the “almost identical” August strikes on the capital “most likely used” KN-23 missiles supplied by North Korea.

Another attempt to target Kyiv followed at about 7 a.m., Popko said, this time with Iskander cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defenses struck down all the missiles fired in both attacks on the city, he said.

Fears mount for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

In a separate development, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Saturday that the safety situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is deteriorating following reports of a nearby drone strike.

Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged “maximum restraint from all sides” after an IAEA team stationed in the plant reported that an explosive carried by a drone detonated just outside its protected area.

According to Grossi’s statement, the impact was “close to the essential water sprinkle ponds” and about 100 meters (100 yards) from the only power line supplying the plant. The IAEA team at the plant has reported intense military activity in the surrounding area in the past week, it said.

Kyiv and Moscow have traded blame for attacks in the vicinity of the power plant since it was captured by Russian forces early in the 2022 invasion, including a fire at the facility last weekend. Grossi’s statement said the blaze had caused “considerable damage,” but posed no immediate danger to nuclear safety.

Ukraine has repeatedly alleged that Russia plans to stage an attack and blame Ukrainian forces. Last summer, Zelenskyy warned of possible explosives he said Moscow may have planted on the plant’s roof to blackmail Ukraine.

A roadside blast caused by an improvised explosive device, targeting a convoy of foreign diplomats, killed a policeman and injured four others, an official in Pakistan said Sunday.

The diplomats were traveling to a tourist area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and is a base for militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.

The blast occurred at the tourist spot and hill station of Malam Jabba, one of Pakistan’s two ski resorts, some 250 km (155 miles) north of the provincial capital Peshawar.

The diplomats in the convoy were from Indonesia, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan. All of them are safe and a heavy security contingent is at the scene, police officer Javed Khan said.

They were visiting the area at the invitation of the local chamber of commerce and industry, Khan added.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry said an advance scout police vehicle was hit by an IED. The diplomats have returned to the capital Islamabad.

“Our sympathies are with the families of the policeman. We honor our law enforcement authorities that remain steadfast in the face of terrorists,” said the ministry.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

In a separate incident, in southwest Balochistan province, gunmen opened fire on a security patrol team in Zhob district and killed two officers on Saturday night.

A third died from his injuries on Sunday, said Assistant Police Inspector Ghulam Muhammad.

Washington — Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Sunday that his country “did not want this war” with Hezbollah and ahead of Israel’s attacks on Friday that killed a senior commander of the terrorist group, “it is assumed that they were planning an attack.” 

“We did not want this war,” Herzog said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. ” We’re not seeking war. This war was waged upon us by the proxies of the empire of evil of Iran, on Oct. 7 by Hamas, and on Oct. 8 by Hezbollah.” 

The comments come after Israel and Lebanon traded heavy fire overnight, following a string of attacks against Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terror group, in recent days. On Friday, an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut killed a top Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, among others, in the deadliest targeting of the Lebanese capital since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. And earlier in the week, Hezbollah vowed retaliation after exploding devices killed dozens and wounded thousands. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

Herzog said Sunday that “the world has to be with” Israel. 

“This is the real watershed in the world,” Herzog said. “The world has to stop this. The world has to be with us. And the world has to understand that we are fighting for the free world and we must bring our hostages back home as soon as possible. This is the biggest plight of humanity at this current stage.”

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah and Israel have regularly traded fire. But the attacks have largely been in less-populated parts of Lebanon. 

Herzog said Israel has been in a “vicious cycle” with its adversaries since Oct. 7, urging that “we want to get out of this vicious cycle, and if we have no choice, then we’re getting ready for escalation.” 

On a possible hostage deal, the Israeli president said they are not getting “any positive signs from Hamas” when it comes to returning the 101 people held by Hamas, including four Americans. But he said that the current crisis, which he called “boiling hot,” presents an “opportunity to go forward and change this situation by finding the right exit and bringing the hostages back home.”

Four people were killed and 17 more were injured in a shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, police said Sunday. Some of the individuals wounded suffered “life-threatening injures,” Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald said at a news conference, hours after the incident that occurred in what he called one of the city’s “most popular entertainment districts.”

Police said they believe multiple suspects fired at a large group of people standing outside near Magnolia Avenue in the Five Points South area. The shooting happened just after 11 p.m. CST.

Two men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue. Police officers found them lying unresponsive on a sidewalk when they arrived. Each had multiple gunshot wounds.

They were identified Sunday night as Anitra Holloman, 21, Tahj Booker, 27, and Carlos McCain, 27.  

A fourth gunshot victim, an adult man, was pronounced dead by staff at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.

Four of the wounded victims were in critical condition, police said. UAB Hospital received 12 victims, including one of the people who were killed, according to the Birmingham Police Department. 

Detectives believe the shooting wasn’t random. Police said in a statement that they think it “stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the crossfire.” Police said one of the people who was killed is believed to be the shooting’s intended target.

No one was in custody Sunday evening, but Fitzgerald told reporters earlier that police “will do everything we possibly can to make sure we uncover, identify and hunt down whoever is responsible for preying on our people this morning.”

Police said more than 100 shell casings were recovered and they believe the guns were equipped with illegal switches that turned them into a fully automatic weapons.

“Right now my mind is on the families who are experiencing a sudden, giant void in their lives. The innocent people currently under medical care fighting for their lives. The children who are experiencing loss and grief far, far too soon,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said Sunday. “I hope the perpetrators of this crime know how deep this trauma goes. There are families and children in immeasurable pain. There’s an entire community in mourning. Those are the consequences of your actions.”

Woodfin in an earlier statement said, “Glock switches are the number one public safety issue in our city and state.”

“Though illegal under federal law, there is no state law that makes glock switches illegal,” Woodfin said. “Every Mayor, Police Chief, Sheriff, and District Attorney I know wants glock switches outlawed. Converting a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon that discharges all bullets within seconds doesn’t belong on our domestic streets.” 

Police said they were investigating alongside the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They have asked anyone with information to contact the homicide division at the Birmingham Police Department or report tips anonymously to Crime Stoppers. The latter may give up to $5,000 for tips, according to police.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham campus is located in the Five Points South area, which is a nightlife hub in the city where numerous restaurants, bars and live music venues draw large crowds, particularly on weekend nights.

BEIRUT –

 The leader of Hezbollah on Thursday said this week’s deadly attack on the Lebanon-based militant group’s communications devices was a “severe blow” that crossed a “red line.”

Hassan Nasrallah said the group is investigating how the two-day attack, which killed more than 30, wounded thousands and was widely believed to be carried out by Israel.

“Yes, we were subjected to a huge and severe blow,” Nasrallah said. “The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines,” he added.

As usual, Nasrallah spoke by video from an undisclosed location. Hezbollah typically convenes a rally for supporters to watch his speeches on a big screen, but this time they did not.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Hezbollah fired a new barrage into northern Israel on Thursday, continuing its drumbeat of exchanges with the Israeli military as fears of a greater war rise. Hundreds of electronic devices used by Hezbollah exploded in Lebanon earlier this week, killing at least 37 people and wounding some 3,000 others.

The device explosions appeared to be the culmination of a months-long operation by Israel to target as many Hezbollah members as possible all at once. Over two days, pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, wounding and even crippling some fighters, but also maiming civilians connected to the group’s social branches and killing at least two children.

It was unclear how the attack fit into warnings by Israeli leaders in recent weeks that they could launch a stepped-up military operation against Hezbollah, Lebanon’s strongest armed force. The Israeli government has called it a war aim to end the Iranian-backed group’s cross-border fire in order to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes near the border.

Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.” He made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the centre of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

Hezbollah said early Thursday it had targeted three military positions in northern Israel near the border, two of them with drones. The Israeli military said the drones crashed near communities. Hospitals reported they treated at least eight patients lightly or moderately injured. The military said early Thursday it had struck several militant sites in southern Lebanon overnight.

The volley of strikes was a signal by Hezbollah that it would continue its near-daily fire, which it says is a show of support for Hamas. Israel’s 11-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza began after its militants led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Israel has responded to Hezbollah’s fire with strikes in southern Lebanon, and has struck senior figures from the group in the capital Beirut. The exchanges have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents on each side of the border.

Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly pulled back from an all-out war under heavy pressure from the United States, France and other countries.

But in their recent warnings, Israeli leaders have said they are determined to change the status quo dramatically.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, Israeli officials said. Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah, though media reported the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Lebanon is still reeling from the deadly device attacks of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The explosions have rattled anxious Lebanese fearing a full-scale war. The Lebanese Army said it has been locating and detonating suspicious pagers and communication devices, while the country’s civil aviation authorities banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s international airport until further notice.

The attack was likely to severely disrupt Hezbollah’s internal communication as it scrambles to determine safe means to talk to each other. Hezbollah announced the death of five combatants Thursday, but didn’t specify if they were killed in the explosions or on the front lines.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was scheduled to speak later Thursday as the group vowed to retaliate against Israel.

The blasts went off wherever the holders of the pagers or walkie-talkies happened to be in multiple parts of Beirut and eastern and southern Lebanon — in homes and cars, grocery stores and cafes and on the street, even at a funeral for some killed in the bombings, often with family and other bystanders nearby.

Many suffered gaping wounds on their legs, abdomens and faces or were maimed in the hand. Tuesday’s pager blasts killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded some 2,300 others. The following day’s explosion killed 25 and wounded more than 600, Health Minister Firas Abiad said, giving updated figures.

Abiad told reporters that Wednesday’s injuries were more severe than the previous day as walkie-talkies that exploded were bigger than the pagers. He praised Lebanon’s hospitals, saying they had managed to deal with the flood of wounded within hours. “It was an indiscriminate attack. It was a war crime,” he said.

This image from video shows a walkie-talkie that exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.

JERUSALEM – With Israel’s defence minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the spectre of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before.

Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict appear to be fading quickly as Israel signals a desire to change the status quo in the country’s north, where it has exchanged cross-border fire with Hezbollah since the Lebanese militant group began attacking on Oct. 8, a day after the war’s opening salvo by Hamas.

In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.

Here’s a look at how Israel is preparing for a war with Lebanon:

Troops drawn from Gaza to the northern border

While the daily fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated on several occasions, the bitter enemies have been careful to avoid an all-out war.

That appears to be changing — especially after pagers, walkie-talkies, solar equipment and other devices exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 20 and wounding thousands in a sophisticated attack Hezbollah blamed on Israel.

“You don’t do something like that, hit thousands of people, and think war is not coming,” said retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who leads Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group of hawkish former military commanders. “Why didn’t we do it for 11 months? Because we were not willing to go to war yet. What’s happening now? Israel is ready for war.”

As fighting in Gaza has slowed, Israel has fortified forces along the border with Lebanon, including the arrival this week of a powerful army division that took part in some of the heaviest fighting in Gaza.

The 98th Division is believed to include thousands of troops, including paratrooper infantry units and artillery and elite commando forces specially trained for operations behind enemy lines. Their deployment was confirmed by an official with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements.

The division played a key role in Gaza, spearheading the army’s operations in the southern city of Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold. The offensive inflicted heavy losses on Hamas fighters and tunnels, but also wreaked massive damage, sent thousands of Palestinians fleeing and resulted in scores of civilian deaths. Israel says Hamas endangers civilians by hiding in residential areas.

The military also said it staged a series of drills this week along the border.

“The mission is clear,” said Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, who heads Israel’s Northern Command. “We are determined to change the security reality as soon as possible.”

A ‘new phase’ of war

The military movements have been accompanied by heightened rhetoric from Israel’s leaders, who say their patience is running thin.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday night declared the start of a ” new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus toward Hezbollah. “The centre of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces,” he said.

He spoke a day after Israel’s Cabinet made the return of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel a formal goal of the war. The move was largely symbolic — Israeli leaders have long pledged to bring those residents home. But elevating the significance of the aim signalled a tougher stance.

After meeting Wednesday with top security officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared: “We will return the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

Netanyahu delivered a similarly tough message with a top U.S. envoy sent to the region this week to soothe tensions.

An official with knowledge of the encounter told The Associated Press that the envoy, Amos Hochstein, told Netanyahu that intensifying the conflict with Hezbollah would not help return evacuated Israelis back home.

Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office, told Hochstein that residents cannot return without “a fundamental change in the security situation in the north.” The statement said that while Netanyahu “appreciates and respects” U.S. support, Israel will “do what is necessary to safeguard its security.”

Is war inevitable?

Israeli media reported Wednesday that the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Much, it seems, will depend on Hezbollah’s response. The group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to deliver a major speech on Thursday.

But public sentiment in Israel seems to be supportive of tougher action against Hezbollah.

A poll in late August by the Israeli Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, found that 67 per cent of Jewish respondents thought Israel should intensify its response to Hezbollah. That includes 46 per cent of Jewish respondents who believed Israel should launch a deep offensive striking Lebanese infrastructure, and 21 per cent who seek an intensified response that avoids striking Hezbollah infrastructure.

“There’s a lot of pressure from the society to go to war and win,” said Avivi, the retired general. “Unless Hezbollah tomorrow morning says, ‘OK, we got the message. We’re pulling out of south Lebanon,’ war is imminent.”

Such a war would almost certainly prove devastating to both sides.

Already, more than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since Oct. 8, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and other armed groups but also more than 100 civilians. In northern Israel, at least 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed by strikes from Lebanon.

Israel inflicted heavy damage on Lebanon during a monthlong war against Hezbollah in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Israeli leaders have threatened even tougher action this time around, vowing to repeat the scenes of destruction from Gaza in Lebanon.

But Hezbollah also has built up its capabilities since 2006. Hezbollah has an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles, some believed to have guidance systems that could threaten sensitive targets in Israel. It has also developed an increasingly sophisticated fleet of drones.

Capable of striking all parts of Israel, Hezbollah could bring life in Israel to a standstill and send hundreds of thousands of Israelis fleeing.

Israeli firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an open field in northern Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.