President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes, with his son Mojtaba Khamenei later chosen to succeed him. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Iran is also attempting to block some shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and expanding its ground operations in the south of the country.
Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
1,189 killed in Lebanon since March 2, health ministry says
Israeli forces have killed at least 1,189 people and wounded another 3,427 in Lebanon since March 2, according to the latest tally from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Among those killed were 124 children and 51 health sector personnel. Among those wounded were 409 children and 126 health sector personnel, according to the health ministry.
Hassan Badran, a local, looks at a house destroyed by an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Saksakiyeh, southern Lebanon, March 28, 2026.
Yara Nardi/Reuters
On Friday alone, 26 people were killed and 86 others were wounded, the health ministry said.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Mar 28, 2026, 10:27 AM EDT
Israeli strike kills 2 journalists in southern Lebanon: Reports
An Israeli strike has reportedly killed two journalists in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
Beirut-based television channel Al Mayadeen said its correspondent Fatima Ftouni was killed by an Israeli strike while on a road in a press-marked vehicle, alongside her brother and another journalist, Ali Shoeib, a correspondent for Hezbollah-owned Al Manar television station.
In a post on X, Al Mayadeen's English account said of Ftouni: "Known for her bravery, steadfastness, and forever love for her profession and her constant desire to deliver the message of her people's resistance to the world, she will continue to live within our hearts for the joy she brought us all as a colleague with her warmth, and her dedication to her field."
Al Manar confirmed Shoeib's death in the same strike. In an online article, the TV station said he "was distinguished by his professional and credible reporting, making him one of the most prominent figures in resistance media in Lebanon and the region."
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it conducted a targeted strike that eliminated Shoeib, whom it claimed "operated within the Hezbollah terrorist organization under the guise of a journalist for the 'Al-Manar' network, while operating systematically to expose the locations of IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon and along the border."
Hezbollah's al-Manar TV correspondent Ali Shoeib, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Jezzine along with other journalists on March 28, 2026, is seen reporting in the town of Marjayoun, Nov. 22, 2024.
Hussein Malla/AP
The IDF statement did not mention Ftouni or her brother. ABC News has asked for comment on their reported deaths.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the targeting of journalists, saying the "Israeli aggression violates the most basic principles of international law, international humanitarian law, and the laws of war by targeting journalists, who are ultimately civilians carrying out their professional duty."
Gear that was used by a media crew of journalists who were killed in an Isareli strike earlier is displayed near the husk of their destroyed vehicle along the side of a road leading to Jezzine in southern Lebanon, on March 28, 2026. An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed three journalists on March 28, their channels and a Lebanese military source said, while Israel said it killed a Hezbollah member who worked "under the guise of a journalist".
Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images
"This is a blatant crime that violates all norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars, in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their protocols, specifically Article 79 of Additional Protocol I (1977) and Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006), which prohibits targeting journalists and media professionals as long as they are not directly participating in hostilities," the statement added.
-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz, Dana Savir, Morgan Winsor
Mar 28, 2026, 7:29 AM EDT
Israel says it killed 2 senior Hezbollah officials amid ongoing strikes across Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday morning that its strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure continue across Lebanon, after targeting dozens of sites in the south of the country overnight.
The IDF also claimed that a targeted strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday had killed two senior Hezbollah officials, Ayyoub Hussein Yaacoub and Yasser Mohammad Mubarak.
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Deir al-Zahrani on March 28, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
"Overnight, the IDF conducted strikes on dozens of targets from the air and sea across multiple areas in southern Lebanon, in support of ground troops and as part of the ongoing effort to degrade the capabilities of Hezbollah in the area. Among the targets struck: weapons storage facilities, launchers, military structures, and additional terrorist infrastructure," the IDF said in a statement.
"The IDF will continue to operate with determination against Hezbollah, which chose to join the attacks on Israel and operate on behalf of the Iranian terror regime. The IDF will not allow harm to the residents of Israel," the statement continued.
-ABC News' Dana Savir
Mar 28, 2026, 6:45 AM EDT
Iraq, US form joint committee to boost security coordination
The United States and Iraq have established the High Joint Coordination Committee "to intensify cooperation to prevent terrorist attacks and ensure that Iraqi territory is not used as a launching point for any aggression…" for both Iraqi and U.S. people and assets, according to a joint statement.
"Both sides emphasized their commitment to keeping Iraq outside the scope of the ongoing military conflict in the region, fully respecting its sovereignty, and supporting Iraq in ensuring its territory, airspace, and territorial waters cannot be used to threaten Iraq, or neighboring and regional states," the statement said.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner fires a Tomahawk land attack missile during Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 21, 2026.
US Navy
"The two sides affirmed their renewed commitment to coordinating counterterrorism efforts in a manner that prioritizes Iraqi action to achieve the shared objectives in a manner that preserves stability and safeguards Iraq’s sovereignty," the statement continued.
