Hezbollah, Israel trade heavy cross-border fire as Blinken seeks to prevent regional escalation

With the risk of regional escalation, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off an urgent Middle East diplomatic tour, his fourth since the Israel-Hamas war erupted three months ago. Hezbollah said it launched 62 rockets toward an Israeli air surveillance base on Mount Meron and scored direct hits in its “initial response” to Arouri's killing. The war in Gaza was triggered by a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Israel has held Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, saying the group embeds itself within Gaza's civilian infrastructure. Blinken will visit Israel and the West Bank next week before wrapping up the trip in Egypt.