Israel-Hamas war latest: 20 killed, 450 wounded in second day of explosions in Lebanon

Lebanon’s health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country.

The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000.

Associated Press journalists reported multiple explosions at the site of a Beirut funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before.

Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported explosions in multiple areas of Lebanon, and a Hezbollah official told the AP that walkie-talkies used by the group exploded in Beirut. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Here's the latest:

Israeli court stops short of ordering closure of shadowy detention facility

JERUSALEM — Israel’s highest court said Wednesday that authorities have to follow the law at a shadowy military detention facility where rights groups say Palestinians have been abused, but stopped short of ordering it closed.

The court said that conditions of incarceration at Sde Teiman, the detention facility in Israel’s south, had to comply with Israeli law governing how enemy combatants should be treated during wartime.

Rights groups have alleged that Palestinians at the facility are held handcuffed and blindfolded, made to sit in rows in warehouse-like structures under 24-hour floodlights. They say detainees are not afforded adequate food or water and abuse from Israeli soldiers is common. Israel’s military is investigating several soldiers on suspicion of sexually assaulting a detainee at the facility.

“Protecting the rule of law, even during a difficult war, is the clear expression of the difference between a democratic state, which is fighting for its life, and a terrorist organization which wants to destroy it,” wrote the Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman in the decision Wednesday.

The state has said it has moved the majority of inmates out of the facility since it came under court challenge. It says it is expanding the existing facility to improve conditions there.

Israel has pulled in thousands of Palestinians from Gaza since the start of its offensive there, often detaining them without charge or trial before releasing them back into the strip.

US military officials reexamining how forces are positioned in Mideast

WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. Derek France, the head of U.S. air power in the Middle East, had been scheduled to talk to reporters at a conference in Maryland on Wednesday but canceled to more closely monitor the situation after the pager attack, a military official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing situation.

The official said the attack has prompted the Air Force to reexamine how U.S. forces are positioned in the region in case of retaliation.

It comes after the Navy pulled one of its aircraft carriers out of the region last week following the Pentagon’s decision to keep two carriers in the Middle East for a short time recently.

The Biden administration beefed up the U.S. military presence there to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard U.S. troops. The U.S. has tens of thousands of service members, additional ships and aircraft squadrons based throughout the Middle East to try to keep the conflict from spreading into a wider regional war.