Middle East

NPR - Israel launched attacks on central Beirut last night, intensifying its offensive in Lebanon after the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. The exchange marks some of the fiercest fighting between the two sides since the beginning of the war in Iran. Today, U.S. Central Command confirmed that at least four crew members were killed when a refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. Yesterday, Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first message, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.