Hezbollah and Israel exchange fire and warnings of a widened war

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah has announced the deaths of five more militants as clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border intensify. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near there on Sunday and warned Lebanon not to let itself get dragged into a new war. The tiny Mediterranean country is home to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party with an armed wing of the same name. Israeli soldiers and militants have traded fire across the border since Israel’s war with the Palestinian group Hamas began, but the launches so far have targeted limited areas. Hezbollah has vowed to escalate if Israel begins a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which is likely, and Israel said it would aggressively retaliate.