The Israeli military apologized Monday for a strike that killed three Lebanese soldiers in southern Lebanon, saying it is not battling the country’s military and its troops believed they were targeting a vehicle belonging to the Hezbollah militant group.

Israeli strikes meanwhile hit nearly a dozen branches of a Hezbollah-run financial institution that Israel says is used to fund attacks but where many ordinary people keep their savings.

Last week, Hezbollah said it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, as the region reckoned with the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza. Sinwar was a chief architect of the attack on southern Israel that precipitated the latest escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annihilate Hamas and recover dozens of hostages held by the group. Hamas says it will only release the captives in return for a lasting cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

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Here’s the latest:

Mourners in Israel Forced to Take Cover Amid Rocket Fire From Lebanon

Mourners attending the funeral of a man killed in a rocket attack in northern Israel over the weekend were forced to take cover Monday as sirens wailed and more rockets were fired from Lebanon.

The mourners of Alexei Poupov were seen taking cover alongside gravestones as loud explosions and interceptions followed.

Poupov was killed Saturday in a rocket attack on the northern city of Acre.

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Iran Sends Note of Protest to UN Nuclear Watchdog

TEHRAN — Iran says it has sent a note of protest to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency over the possibility of an Israeli strike against its nuclear facilities.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said Monday that the protest note was sent to the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

Baghaei said Iran would consider an attack on any such facilities “a threat against international peace and security.”

Israel has vowed to respond to an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier this month, raising fears of strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Israel has a broad range of choices of targets – from Iranian government buildings and military bases to sensitive oil installations to heavily fortified nuclear facilities hidden deep below ground.

Iran has repeatedly denied that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Lebanese Police Try to Evict Hundreds of Displaced From an Abandoned Building in Beirut

BEIRUT — Lebanese police stormed an abandoned building in Beirut’s commercial district, Hamra, to evict hundreds of displaced by Israel’s war on Hezbollah, who have been squatting there for weeks.

Lebanese authorities have prepared hundreds of shelters to accommodate the displaced. But as their numbers climbed to nearly 20% of the population, or an estimated 1.2 million people, official shelters have not been able to cope.

Tens of thousands had fled their homes since last year. An Israeli escalation last month has driven out an additional hundreds of thousands of people from the south, Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut, many of them often fleeing with nothing more than the clothes they are wearing.

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Most of the formal shelters prepared by the government are at full capacity, housing nearly 200,000 people.

Most of the displaced have sought accommodation with relatives and friends around Lebanon. But many have taken to beaches and open spaces, where they set up shelters. With winter approaching, they are seeking a roof over their head.

Scuffles broke out Monday between police and many of the displaced who refused to leave. An ambulance arrived to remove a person who passed out. A woman threatened to jump off the balcony if she was forced to leave, yelling she refused to go to overcrowded government shelters, where there is no space and where she feared diseases.

It was not clear what prompted the sudden eviction. Lebanon’s Interior Ministry said it will not allow trespassing on private property despite the displacement crisis.

Over a Dozen Bodies Collected in Northern Gaza, Medical Workers Say

CAIRO — Palestinian medical officials say they have collected over a dozen bodies of people killed in Israel’s ongoing air and ground operation in northern Gaza.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said they included six men killed early Monday when they were trying to get drinking water in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, the main focus of the operation.

Four others, including two women, were killed in a strike on an area sheltering displaced people in Jabaliya, it said. Another three people were killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in the border town of Beit Hanoun.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiyya, the director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, said it was overwhelmed with wounded people and patients.

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Israel launched the operation more than two weeks ago, saying Hamas militants had regrouped in Jabaliya after several previous military operations there. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians.

Israeli authorities have dramatically reduced the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, raising fears among Palestinians that they are implementing a surrender-or-starve plan advocated by retired Israeli generals.

Israel ordered the entire population of the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, to evacuate to the south in the war’s opening weeks and reiterated those instructions this month. Around 400,000 people are believed to have remained in the north, which is encircled by Israeli forces and off limits to Palestinians who fled their homes there.

Israeli Police Arrest 7 Citizens Allegedly Paid by Iran to Gather Intelligence

JERUSALEM — Israeli police have arrested seven citizens who they say were paid by Iran to collect intelligence for over two years.

In a statement released Monday, Israel’s internal security agency and police said that the seven collected information about other Israelis and photographed Israeli military installations, including missile defense systems, air force and naval sites, and power plants.

Iran paid them paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, often in cryptocurrency, the statement said. It did not provide evidence for the alleged plot.

Israeli authorities say they have foiled several recent plots by Iran that involved recruiting Israelis for espionage or assassinations.

Israel has vowed to retaliate for Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack. Israeli air defenses shot down most of the missiles, but some hit Israeli military installations.

Israel and Iran have waged a shadow war for years that burst to the surface after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war in Gaza. Israel and Iran exchanged fire directly for the first time in April.

Iran supports armed groups across the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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Macron Calls for a Cease-Fire in a Phone Call With Netanyahu

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron called once again for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

Macron said the elimination of Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar last week in Gaza “must be an opportunity to begin a new phase of negotiation” for a cease-fire, the release of hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Macron alo called for Israel to preserve infrastructure and protect civilians in Lebanon.

Macron shared his intention to keep communication channels open with Teheran, “to obtain guarantees on Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic program and regional policy,” the statement.

Relations between the two leaders became tense recently after Macron called for “a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza,” drawing strong criticism from Netanyahu.