Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon ground incursion

DEIR-AL BALAH ISRAEL's ground incursion into Lebanon to battle Hezbollah militants left eight Israeli soldiers dead on Wednesday, while the region braced for further escalation as Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran's ballistic missile attack a day earlier.

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The Israeli military said seven soldiers were killed in two separate attacks, without elaborating. The assaults were among the deadliest against Israeli forces in months.

Another seven troops, including a combat medic, were wounded. Earlier, the military had announced that a 22-yearold captain in a commando brigade was killed in Lebanon, the first Israeli combat death since the start of the incursion.

The announcements came on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.

In Gaza, where the nearly yearlong war that triggered the widening conflict rages on with no end in sight, Israeli ground and air operations in a hard-hit city killed at least 51 people, including women and children, Palestinian medical officials said. Three young Swedes were arrested on Wednesday in connection with two predawn explosions that occurred in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen, prompting a nearby Jewish school to close for the day. Police said no one was injured.