Israel-Gaza updates: Netanyahu weighs plan to force civilians out of north Gaza

The plan does not say if Palestinians could eventually return to northern Gaza.

ByBill Hutchinson, Nadine El-Bawab, David Brennan, Meredith Deliso, Kevin Shalvey, and Julia Reinstein
Last Updated: September 22, 2024, 8:37 AM EDT

Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging hundreds of cross-border strikes in the wake of the shocking explosions of wireless devices across Lebanon.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Sep 18, 2024, 7:16 AM EDT

Israel moves troops toward Lebanon border

The Israel Defense Forces' 98th Division will be deployed to the northern part of the country close to the border with Lebanon, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.

The division was previously active in the Gaza Strip and is being deployed to the north amid rising tensions and ongoing skirmishes between the IDF and the Hezbollah militant group operating from southern Lebanon.

PHOTO: This picture taken from Israel along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Wazzani during Israeli bombardment on Sept. 16, 2024.
This picture taken from Israel along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Wazzani during Israeli bombardment on Sept. 16, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for Israel's exploding pager attack that killed at least 12 people and injured at least 2,800 in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Sep 18, 2024, 6:22 AM EDT

Israel behind Lebanon pagers attack, sources confirm

Sources confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.

The pagers began exploding around 3:30 p.m. local time, according to Hezbollah officials. An intelligence source familiar with the situation told ABC News that Israel has long been working to perfect this type of "supply chain interdiction attack."

A source described the attack as a “huge operation” that took between six and 12 months to plan, involving the use of informants and collaborators. Explosives were implanted inside the beepers, the source added.

PHOTO: Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the entrance of a hospital (background) in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon.
Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the entrance of a hospital (background) in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024, after explosions hit locations in several Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon amid ongoing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.
Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images

At least 12 people were killed and at least 2,800 injured by the explosions, Lebanese health authorities said.

Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though did not disclose the circumstances of their deaths. The militant group vowed retaliation against Israel.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti, Josh Marglin and Jordana Miller

Sep 18, 2024, 4:58 AM EDT

4 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said four of its soldiers were killed fighting in southern Gaza on Tuesday.

Capt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon were killed in combat, the IDF said in a statement.

An Israeli military helicopter flies near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, as seen from Israel, Aug. 23, 2024.
Florion Goga/Reuters

One officer and two soldiers from the Shaked Battalion, Givati Brigade, were "severely injured" during the same incident, the statement said. Another two soldiers were "moderately injured."

An officer from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit was also "severely injured" in southern Gaza, the IDF said.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Sep 18, 2024, 4:44 AM EDT

Hezbollah vows 'reckoning' for pager explosions

In a Wednesday morning statement, the Hezbollah militant group said it would continue operations to "support Gaza" and vowed a "reckoning" for Israel after Tuesday's "massacre" when more than 2,750 people were injured by exploding pagers in Lebanon.

PHOTO: People gather outside American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2024.
People gather outside American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) as more than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, according to a security source, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2024.
Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

Hezbollah blamed Israel for the operation, which killed at least nine civilians. Eleven Hezbollah members died on Tuesday, the group said, though -- as is typical in its statements -- did not specify how they died.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to speak on Thursday afternoon to address the situation.

Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in Tuesday's explosions in Lebanon.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta and Ghazi Balkiz

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