President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes and his son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed him. Iran is responding 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.
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Qatar condemns Israeli attack on Iranian gas field
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli targeting of facilities "linked to Iran’s South Pars field, an extension of Qatar’s North Field," calling it a "dangerous & irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region." "Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region & its environment," the ministry said. "We reiterate, as we have repeatedly emphasized, the necessity of avoiding the targeting of vital facilities. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, & work toward de-escalation in a manner that preserves the security & stability of the region," the ministry said.
Mar 18, 2026, 7:36 AM EDT
IDF to attack Litani River crossings in Lebanon, Israel says
Israel said its forces were planning to strike bridges across Lebanon's Litani River, warning people living south of that river and the farther north Zahrani River to evacuate to the north immediately.
"For your safety and the safety of your families, immediately move to areas north of the Litani River," the Israel Defense Forces said on social media on Wednesday. "Remaining south of the Litani River may endanger your lives and the lives of your families. Please note: any movement southward may endanger your lives."
Israeli army soldiers attached to an artillery unit are deployed at a position in the upper Galilee, in northern Israel, near the Lebanon border on March 17, 2026.
Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images
Israel said it was being "compelled" to carry out the strikes because of Hezbollah's activities "with the support of the civilian population."
"Accordingly, and to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and combat means, the Defense Army intends to attack crossings on the Litani River starting from midday hours today," Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said, said on social media.
The expected bridge strikes would come as Israeli forces escalate their aerial and on-the-ground assaults against purported Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, which is south of the river, and in Beirut, the capital.
It was unclear how civilians remaining in the south would be able evacuate to the north if river crossings were destroyed.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz
Mar 18, 2026, 6:42 AM EDT
Israel says Iran's minister of intelligence is killed
An overnight Israeli strike on Iran killed Esmail Khatib, the intelligence minister, according to the Israeli defense minister.
Israel Katz, the defense minister, said Wednesday that Khatib had been in charge of "the regime's internal murder and repression system in Iran and of promoting external threats."
Iran's Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib (C) sits with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian (C-R) before a speech to defend his cabinet selection to members of parliament in the capital Tehran on Aug. 17, 2024.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Announcing this latest killing, Katz said that "significant surprises are expected in all arenas" which will escalate the war against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, without disclosing details.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Jordana Miller
Mar 18, 2026, 5:38 AM EDT
6 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, ministry says
At least six people were killed and 24 others were injured in early morning Israeli strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese health ministry said, as Israel said it struck Hezbollah-related infrastructure in both the capital and the country's south.
The Lebanese ministry said Beirut had been strike twice on Wednesday morning. At least one building in the city was levelled.
A building collapses after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's Bashoura neighbourhood early on March 18, 2026.
Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy operating in Lebanon, had fired "dozens" of rockets toward Israel.
The IDF said it responded to those rockets by warning residents of Tyre, a southern coastal city, of impending strikes. Strikes on the city then destroyed what Israel described as a weapons-storage facility.
A damaged car at the site of a strike on a building in Burj el-Shamali, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tyre, Lebanon, March 18, 2026.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Israel said it also targeted in Beirut "additional assets" of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, a group said to help finance Hezbollah’s operations.
"Alongside headquarters of the 'Hamasin' Division in southern Lebanon that were struck from the air and sea, the Navy struck a key terrorist in the Hezbollah terror organization in Beirut," the IDF said in a statement early on Wednesday. "Prior to the strike, steps were taken to minimize the chance of harm to civilians, including advance warnings, use of precision munitions, and aerial observations."
Israel said its military intends to "continue to act forcefully against the Hezbollah terror organization, which decided to join the campaign and operate under the auspices of the Iranian terror regime, and will not allow harm to civilians of the State of Israel."
