Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted the country is free to act as it chooses in a counter-strike against Iran after a report suggesting his government is heeding US pleas to keep nuclear and energy facilities off its target list to limit the risk of escalation.

An Israeli military spokesperson said recent attacks by Hezbollah along the Lebanon border have been carried out with the “direction and backing of Iran."

French President Emmanuel Macron has further strained tense relations with Israel with a comment referring o the creation of the Israeli state, a verbal jab that was rapidly denounced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as distorting history.

French President Macron's comment about Israel's creation has strained relations with Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized Macron for distorting history, stating Israel was established through the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

A single drone, which evaded Israel’s vaunted aerial defense system, slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens of others

Israel’s air force struck targets in Beirut for the first time in almost a week, and the US warned it could cut arms supplies if the humanitarian crisis in Gaza doesn’t improve.