Hezbollah Launches One of Its Largest Retaliatory Strikes on Israel

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at escalations on the Israel-Lebanon border, European tariffs against Chinese electric vehicles, and Russian military drills.

Revenge Operation

Hezbollah launched around 170 missiles and rockets at northern Israel on Wednesday in retaliation for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killing a top Hezbollah commander the day before. The strikes—which targeted Israeli military factories, bases, and an air surveillance station—were one of the largest Hezbollah attacks on Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began eight months ago. No casualties were reported.

Hezbollah has traded fire with the IDF nearly every day since the conflict erupted, and in recent weeks, the Iranian-backed militant group has begun targeting Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, sparking wildfires along the border. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of “very intense action” to “restore security to the north” while visiting one of the blaze sites.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed Taleb Sami Abdullah (known as Hajj Abu Taleb), the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed yet, along with three other Hezbollah fighters at a command-and-control center near Jouaiyya, Lebanon. One of the last major Hezbollah leaders to be killed was Wissam Hassan al-Tawil, a high-ranking commander of the group’s Radwan unit whom Israeli forces targeted in January.

Hezbollah has the largest missile arsenal of any nonstate actor in the world, and it has said it will only stop its attacks on Israel once Netanyahu agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza. Hamas conditionally accepted a United Nations-backed truce deal on Tuesday but demanded “amendments” regarding the terms and timeline for the cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, Gaza’s reconstruction, and hostage negotiations. “Some of those are workable changes. Some are not,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday while in Qatar for his eighth diplomatic trip to the region since the war broke out.

Israel, which has yet to formally respond to the cease-fire proposal, said Hamas’s response was essentially a rejection of the deal on offer. Blinken has suggested that Israel has accepted the original deal, but Netanyahu appears opposed to withdrawing IDF troops from Gaza while Hamas remains active. More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed thus far, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

A U.N. commission on Wednesday accused both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups of committing war crimes, including crimes against humanity, on Oct. 7 and through the end of 2023. The report was the most detailed U.N. examination of the war to date, and while it does not carry legal penalties, experts expect the findings to be used in ongoing cases at the International Court of Justice as well as other criminal proceedings.

According to the report, Hamas’s military wing and six other Palestinian armed groups killed and tortured Israelis during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault. “Many abductions were carried out with significant physical, mental and sexual violence and degrading and humiliating treatment, including in some cases parading the abductees,” the report said, adding, “Women and women’s bodies were used as victory trophies by male perpetrators.”

Regarding Israel, the report said the IDF’s use of heavy weapons on populated Gaza cities was a direct attack on civilians and has the essential elements of a crime against humanity. Israeli forces also allegedly engaged in “extermination, murder, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, forcible transfer of the population, torture, and inhuman and cruel treatment.” The U.N. commission accused Israeli authorities of obstructing the investigation. Israel condemned its findings.

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What We’re Following

EV tariffs. The European Commission announced new tariffs of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric vehicle imports on Wednesday. The extra duties will be imposed by July, with definitive duties—which usually last for five years—to be determined in November. The commission said the move was to protect European carmakers, but many local automobile companies fear Chinese retaliation and the possibility of decreased public demand as prices rise. Europe is the main destination for Chinese electric vehicles.

Last month, the United States quadrupled tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles as well as semiconductors, solar cells, and advanced batteries. U.S. President Joe Biden also maintained duties on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese products, a plan that was first introduced under former U.S. President Donald Trump. Last month’s announcement aimed to curb alleged Chinese dumping ahead of the U.S. November presidential election, but to Beijing, “the tariffs look like a serious escalation of the U.S.-China contest,” argued FP columnist Agathe Demarais.

Military maneuvers. Russian troops fired missile and drone strikes against Ukraine on Wednesday in an overnight attack. Local officials said the assault sparked an industrial facility fire, damaged homes, and injured people across six regions. Another Russian strike, separate from the morning barrage, hit an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday, killing eight people and wounding 21 others.

Moscow has stepped up its military drills this week as tensions with the West over Ukraine rise. On Tuesday, Russian and Belarusian forces launched the second stage of their joint training exercises, which center on using tactical nuclear weapons. Belarus has housed some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons since last year, and the two nations remain close allies.

Also on Tuesday, Russian warships conducted a drill in the Atlantic Ocean while en route to Cuba that involved a computer simulation of a missile strike on enemy targets. The Russian ships arrived in Havana on Wednesday. Cuban officials said none of the vessels carried nuclear weapons. The news comes one week after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to deploy long-range armaments to nations that can hit the United States and other Western targets.

Migrant deaths. A massive fire near Kuwait City killed at least 49 people and injured dozens of others living in a building that primarily housed low-income workers, many of whom were migrants. Local authorities arrested the building’s owner and are investigating the cause of the blaze to try to determine if “any shortcoming or neglect” occurred. Interior Minister Fahad Yusuf al-Sabah blamed corporate greed for the tragedy.

In more migrant news, a boat carrying hundreds of Somalis and Ethiopians capsized off the coast of Yemen on Monday. The U.N. reported on Tuesday that at least 49 people were killed, including 31 women and six children, and 140 others remain missing. The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are key migrant routes often used by smugglers. At least 1,860 people have died or disappeared in these territories since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Odds and Ends

Denmark is dishing out hot takes. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration recalled three flavors of South Korea’s Samyang ramen brand on Tuesday over claims that their chile pepper levels could poison consumers. But Samyang accused the administration of recalling the products because they were too spicy, saying nothing is wrong with the quality of the noodles. Seems like some foods are just too hot to handle.