Israel and Hezbollah Trade Their Most Intense Fire in Months and Then Pull Back

A general view shows the Beirut port on August 25, 2024, amid escalations in the ongoing cross-border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel. Israel launched air strikes into Lebanon on August 25, saying that it had thwarted a large-scale Hezbollah attack, while the Lebanese group announced its own cross-border raids to avenge a top commander’s killing. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah traded heavy fire early Sunday but backed off from sparking a widely feared all-out war. Both sides signaled their most intense exchange of fire in months was over. The cross-border attack came as high-level talks resumed in Egypt aimed at a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the war in Gaza that also would ease regional tensions. Hezbollah claimed to hit an Israeli military intelligence site near Tel Aviv in a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones. Israel claimed its strike had been preemptive to avert a larger attack. Neither side offered evidence.