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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in a rare sermon Friday that his country’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this week was "legal and legitimate" and that the "resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders." 

The public address from Khamenei was his first during Friday prayers in Tehran in nearly five years, according to the AFP.  

Khamenei said Iran will not "procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty" in going after Israel, Reuters reports. 

The news agency cited him as saying that Tuesday’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles fired by Iran at Israel was "legal and legitimate" and the minimum punishment for Israel’s "crimes." 

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

"The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders," Khamenei reportedly added, mentioning recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the speech. 

The remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, the commander of Hezbollah’s Communications Unit, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. 

"Sakafi was a senior Hezbollah terrorist, who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000," the IDF wrote on X. "Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah's units." 

ISRAEL BANS UN SECRETARY-GENERAL OVER ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIONS 

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was "defeated and ineffective" and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.  

"U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team," Sullivan said during a briefing.  

"This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward," he added. 

Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

A Belfast woman was in court for allegedly attacking good Samaritans who attempted to free a baby seagull she captured Aug. 14. 

Angela Wildman, 58, allegedly used a milk carton and a long-handled mop to attack passersby who tried freeing the waterfowl from her sports bag.

Wildman denied charges in court of common assault, possessing an offensive weapon in public, disorderly behavior and resisting a police officer, according to the BBC. 

Wildman's defense attorney, Damien Trainor, said in court the 58-year-old denies being diagnosed with any mental health conditions. 

NEW JERSEY MAN WHO RIPPED HEAD OFF OF SEAGULL AT PIER SPARKS OUTRAGE ONLINE: 'HORRIBLE MAN'

"[Wildman] explained to me that she feeds birds, takes birds home and looks after wildlife," said Trainor. "She keeps herself to herself, feeds her birds and cleans her house, does her shopping and comes and goes."

According to officers' testimony in court Tuesday, people who attempted to liberate the seagull from Wildman "were assaulted by the defendant with a long-handled mop and a large carton of milk".

IRISH FARMER FINDS NEAR 60-POUND SLAB OF ANCIENT BOG BUTTER ON HIS LAND BY ‘PURE LUCK’

One unlucky passerby was allegedly struck with both the mop and the milk carton during the Aug. 14 incident.

When officers responded in south Belfast, Wildman was allegedly aggressive and uncooperative when they tried to handcuff her. 

The arresting officer argued against Wildman's application for bail in court, saying, "I don’t know that this obsession is with wanting to capture wildlife.

"The public were drawn to her attention because she had managed to capture a baby seagull and was looking after it."

Wildman was granted bail due to the six weeks she spent in custody ahead of her court date Tuesday.

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Wildman's defense lawyer, Damien Trainor, did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

A bus carrying several wedding guests while speeding down a roadway plunged into a ravine in southeastern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least seven people, according to rescuers and officials.

The crash occurred near Quetta, the capital of the Balochistan Province. Authorities did not immediately know what caused the crash, though an investigation was underway.

The Associated Press reported that Wasim Baig, a spokesperson for the health department, said the bodies of the victims and of 17 others who were injured in the crash were taken to an area hospital.

28 CONFIRMED DEAD IN PAKISTAN AFTER BUS PLUNGES INTO ROCKY RAVINE

Some of the injured victims were reportedly in critical condition.

In a country where highways are poorly maintained, and traffic laws are ignored for the most part, crashes on the roadways are common in Pakistan.

FAMILY OF 4, INCLUDING CHILDREN, KILLED BY MISSILE STRIKE IN PAKISTAN

Three bus crashes in August claimed the lives of 60 Pakistanis, combined.

Two of the bus crashes happened in Pakistan, with one occurring in Balochistan and the other in eastern Punjab province. Between the two crashes, 32 people were killed, the AP reported.

Both crashes, according to authorities, were caused by negligence of the drivers.

The third crash occurred in Iran, when 28 Pakistani pilgrims were killed while heading to Iraq.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two Swedish teenagers were jailed Thursday in pre-trial detention in connection with two predawn explosions in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen a day earlier. Prosecutors said investigators were establishing "whether the motive could be a terror attack."

No one was injured in the blasts on early Wednesday in a neighborhood with several foreign diplomatic missions, though the nearby Jewish school was closed following the explosions.

The pair, who cannot be identified under a court order, were ordered held for 27 days. They faced preliminary charges of possessing illegal weapons and carrying five hand grenades. Two of the grenades blew up when the suspects threw them at a house near the embassy, prosecutor Søren Harbo said.

"This was pretty close to the Israeli Embassy," Harbo said before Thursday's court hearing. The explosions caused damage to a roof terrace of a nearby house. The diplomatic mission was not harmed.

EUROPEAN LEADERS WEIGH IN ON 'LEGITIMATE' ISSUE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: 'MUST BE STOPPED'

Thursday's hearing was held behind closed doors after the preliminary charges were read. Reporting from inside the court room, Danish broadcaster DR said the teenagers, aged 16 and 19, are suspected of acting "in association and together with prior agreement with one or more perpetrators."

Both denied the charges, local media reported.

The two suspects were arrested Wednesday shortly before noon on a train at Copenhagen’s central station. Danish media ran photos of a man in a white hazmat suit being taken away by police on a train platform at the station. A third suspect, aged 19, who had been arrested near the embassy, has been released, police said Thursday.

In Denmark, the charges are one step short of formal charges and allow authorities to keep criminal suspects in custody during an investigation.

Separately, shots were fired late Tuesday at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm. No one was injured. No arrests have been made.

The Danish domestic security service, known by its acronym PET, said that "Swedish authorities have assessed that at least one specific act directed at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, which was carried out by young criminals in Sweden, has links to Iran."

In May the Swedish domestic security agency SAPO accused Iran of using established criminal networks in Sweden as a proxy to target Israeli or Jewish people. The announcement came after the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm was sealed off in late January after what was then described as "a dangerous object" was found on the grounds of the diplomatic mission. Swedish media said the object was a hand grenade.

In a statement, PET said, "if we have a state actor who gets young criminals to carry out actions aimed at Jewish targets in our neighboring country, then we can be concerned that this will also happen in Denmark."

In Stockholm, the operative of Sweden’s domestic security agency SAPO, Fredrik Hallström, said "the latest incident at the Israeli embassy is not classified as a terrorist crime at the moment." His counterpart at the Swedish police’s National Operations Department, Johan Olsson, told the same press conference that the charges were of "aggravated weapons offenses, causing danger or other serious illegal threats and damage."

Russian troops on Wednesday took the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region after it withstood more than two years of attacks following the Kremlin’s invasion.

The eventual seizure of the town signifies Russia’s leg up when it comes to the sheer manpower advantage it has over Ukraine, as Kyiv continues to plead with the West for more and faster supplies of weaponry. 

LITHUANIAN FM WARNS RUSSIA CAN DO 'SO MUCH DAMAGE TO ITS NEIGHBORS'

A press officer from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine’s Armed Forces – a unit known for its hardy resistance – said according to a translation provided by Pravda Ukraine on Thursday that the wounded soldiers were successfully evacuated, but under "very difficult" conditions.

"The enemy pressed from the flanks, complicating logistics significantly," Arsenii Prylipka told the news outlet before adding, "This is war. It is impossible to have no losses." 

Prylipka highlighted the strain of the situation and said the commanding officer was forced to make a decision amid heavy fighting.

"They are continually striking, controlling, and complicating logistics, so a decision is made right on the battlefield," he added, rebuffing any question that criticized the decision to withdraw from the coal mining town.

Ukraine's eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the town to prevent Russian troops from encircling its forces positioned in Vuhledar and to "preserve personnel and military equipment," reported Reuters. 

BIDEN PLEDGES $8 BILLION TO UKRAINE FOLLOWING PUTIN'S PROPOSED CHANGES TO NUCLEAR RULES

Though the town reportedly had a population of some 14,000 before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, it has been a frontline town since the start of the war, with the majority of the town’s residents having long since evacuated. 

Images show the beating the town has received after undergoing more than two years of Russian bombardment, many of the buildings not only abandoned, but smoke-covered and crumbling.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his war aim is to take the whole of the Donbas region from Ukraine, and his troops currently occupy an estimated 80% of it. 

The last of the Ukrainian troops to withdraw from Vuhledar left Tuesday night, reported Reuters. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday backed the decision by the commanding officer to withdraw his brigade from the town.

"It is necessary to protect their lives, because they are more important than any buildings. These are our people, these are citizens of Ukraine," he said in response to a question by a reporter about the withdrawal following a meeting with the new NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. 

"Therefore, it is very correct that they leave and can save themselves. For the sake of the state, for the sake of its heroic service," he added.

The Harpole Treasure refers to a collection of relics that was discovered in Harpole near Northampton in 2022. Among the treasures discovered was a unique gold necklace that archaeologists called "the most ornate of its kind ever found," according to The Museum of London Archaeology's (MOLA) July 2022 news release.

The necklace was one of many finds that came out of an ancient burial site. The gorgeous necklace dates back between 630 and 670 A.D., according to MOLA.

The unique piece features many different pendants, which includes beads, glass pendants and Roman coins. 

12-YEAR-OLD BOY STUMBLES UPON STUNNING ANCIENT FIND WHILE WALKING DOG IN ENGLAND: ‘RELATIVELY RARE’

At the center of the necklace sits a rectangular pendant, decorated with a cross motif. While pendants in female burials aren't particularly uncommon, according to the press release, the variety of pendants adds to this particular find's uniqueness.

"Suddenly we had a rubbish pit that turned into a burial beyond burials," Paul Thompson, MOLA project manager, said, per the BBC in 2023. 

"It's a once in a lifetime experience to be working on something like this," he went on to say. 

ANCIENT ROMAN GOLD AND SILVER COINS DISCOVERED WITH METAL DETECTOR MAKE IMPRESSIVE SHOWING AT AUCTION

Other finds unearthed from the ancient burial site were two decorated pots, as well as a shallow copper dish and a large ornate cross. 

The necklace, paired with the other grave goods that were found, label the find as "one of the most spectacular female Early Medieval burials ever discovered in the UK," per MOLA's press release. 

"It wasn’t just one or two items. That would have been incredible in its own," Thompson told The Washington Post in 2022. "We have here the only complete example of this type of necklace excavated in modern archaeological standards.… It’s an asymmetrical set-out of the gold coins, and the precious stones mounted in gold, which we haven’t seen before."

IRISH FARMER FINDS NEAR 60-POUND SLAB OF ANCIENT BOG BUTTER ON HIS LAND BY ‘PURE LUCK’

Though the identity of the woman who was buried with these goods remains an untold story, archaeologists do believe that the person was of high status, possibly an early Christian leader.  

"Christianity provided a way for women to gain independence and power in their own right, by enabling them to run monastic houses, so we see an increase in elite women using Christianity as a means of increasing their status," Emma Brownlee, an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge, told The Washington Post in 2022. "In this burial, we’re seeing a particularly fine example of that process."

In December 2023, MOLA released a second news release about the incredible find, sharing that the 30 pendants and beads making up the necklace had been cleaned and, at the time of writing, continued to be examined by specialists to learn more about their origins. 

There have also been further developments regarding the human remains at the site. 

When the grave goods, including the necklace, were found in 2022, it was believed that only a few fragments of the woman's teeth remained, according to the press release, but further investigation has led to the finding of more fragments, including the upper part of a femur, some vertebrae, part of a hand and wrist, plus part of the pelvic bone, per the press release. 

A Yazidi woman held captive by Islamic terrorists for the last decade has been reunited with her family in Iraq following her escape and safe evacuation on Oct. 1 in a coordinated effort between Israeli and U.S. officials, the State Department confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Fawzia Amin Sido, now 21, was just 11 years old when she was kidnapped by ISIS terrorists before she was sold and trafficked into Gaza, where she was forced to marry an alleged Hamas fighter.

Amin Sido was apparently able to escape after her captor was killed in what was believed to have been an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike, enabling her to flee to a "hideout" within the Gaza Strip.

CHILDREN ONCE HELD HOSTAGE STILL WORKING THROUGH TRAUMA: 'ARE THEY COMING FOR US AGAIN?'

"In a complex operation coordinated between Israel, the United States, and other international actors, she was recently rescued in a secret mission from the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom Crossing," the IDF said in a statement Thursday. "Upon her entry into Israel, she continued to Jordan through the Allenby Bridge Crossing and from there-returned to her family in Iraq."

The operation was led by the IDF’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories unit along with help provided by the U.S. Embassy in Israel, as well as other international actors, though the IDF did not detail who.

"Her story is heartbreaking, and we are glad that she will be reunited with her family in Iraq," a spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital.  "As Secretary [Antony] Blinken has noted, ‘2,600 Yezidis remain missing and unaccounted for.  We are determined to find them, to learn their fates, and to rescue those who remain alive’."

The IDF said the coordinated trafficking efforts in Amin Sido’s case are "further evidence of the connection between the terrorist organization Hamas and ISIS."

WHY NO ISIS MEMBER HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH GENOCIDE OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE FOR CRIMES AGAINST YAZIDIS

ISIS attacked Yazidi populations in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar in August 2014, abducting some 6,400 people and killing another 1,200, according to a report by the Times of Israel.

Roughly half of the abductees have reportedly been able to escape or have been freed. 

The growing ties between ISIS and other terrorist organizations like Hamas signify a growing shift in the Middle East in which extremist groups, despite prior differences, are increasingly expanding ties, often facilitated by the backing of Iran.

The IDF vowed to continue to counter the "Hamas-ISIS terrorist organization" by striking terrorist-based infrastructure sites and pledged to "free all hostages in Hamas captivity."

There are still 101 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including seven Americans, most of whom were taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, though four of them were abducted in 2014 and 2015. 

This figure does not include other Yazidi abductees mentioned by Blinken who may also be being held in Gaza.

Iran has finished its largest-ever barrage of missiles fired at Israel, but warns that a retaliatory strike could warrant further ballistic response.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit this week that Israel must not believe it can act with "impunity," according to Reuters.

"Any type of military attack, terrorist act or crossing our red lines will be met with a decisive response by our armed forces," said Pezeshkian.

8 ISRAELI SOLDIERS KILLED IN LEBANON AS NETANYAHU SAYS IDF ENGAGED IN 'TOUGH WAR' WITH HEZBOLLAH

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the heads of the country's security establishment on Wednesday following Iran's firing of 181 missiles into Israel amid fears that a lethal regional war is around the corner.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar was also in attendance at the summit in Doha, where he called the ongoing violence in the Middle East a "collective genocide" perpetuated by Israel, according to Reuters.

"It has become crystal clear that what is happening is genocide, in addition to turning the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human habitation, in preparation for displacement," the Qatari monarch said.

ISRAEL'S 'MULTI-NATION' SHIELD WORKED AS DESIGNED, SAVED THOUSANDS OF LIVES: VICE ADMIRAL JAMES D. SYRING

Iran’s strikes on Israel forced nearly 10 million people to find safety in bomb shelters on Tuesday. 

The barrage of aerial warfare was the first time in Israeli history that the country’s densely populated cities – Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – in the center of the biblical nation, faced such devastating attacks.

The only fatality from the Iranian barrage was the murder of a Palestinian man in the West Bank (known in Israel by its biblical regional name of Judea and Samaria).

President Biden said Wednesday that he would not support an attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear sites in retaliation for Iran's firing of 181 missiles at Israel amid fears that a lethal regional war is around the corner.

"We'll be discussing with the Israelis what they're going to do, but all seven of us [G7 nations] agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionally," he said.

But when asked whether he would back Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites as it has long threatened, Biden told reporters, "The answer is no."

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

A Mexican man was shot dead in broad daylight near a luxury resort in Cancun on Wednesday afternoon in what authorities believe was a targeted shooting carried out by two suspects who fled on jet skis, according to a local report.

The shooting happened around noon behind the Riu Caribe hotel when witnesses say two beachgoers approached the male victim on foot, the Riviera Maya News reported.

The victim, believed to be in his 30s, was shot several times. The suspects then ran to the beach and hopped onto jet skis. A marina boat pursued the suspects without success, the report said.

The hotel released a statement that said the victim was neither a guest nor an employee of the hotel, according to the report. 

MEXICO'S ARMY SEIZES LOCAL POLICE WEAPONS IN CARTEL HEARTLAND AMID GUNFIGHTS, VIOLENCE

Authorities have yet to release the man’s identity or any information about the gunmen.

The latest incident comes after a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in the resort town in July. Gunmen riding jet skis opened fire on a rival drug dealer on a beach when the boy was apparently struck by stray bullets, Mexican prosecutors said at the time.

Territorial disputes between drug dealers have cost the lives of several tourists in the resorts along Mexico’s Caribbean coast in recent years.

INFAMOUS MEXICAN CARTEL LEADER  ‘EL MAYO’ ZAMBADA PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING, MURDER CHARGES

In 2022, two Canadians were killed in Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun, apparently because of debts between international drug and weapons trafficking gangs.

In 2021, further south in Tulum, two tourists — one a California travel blogger born in India and a German national — were killed when they apparently were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival drug dealers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An American World War II-era bomb buried beneath a busy Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, cratering a busy taxiway and forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights, officials said. 

According to Land and Transport Ministry officials, there were no aircraft nearby and no injuries were reported when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.

Investigators determined that the explosion came from a WWII-era 500-pound bomb, though it’s not clear what caused the sudden detonation. 

Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions.

A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air like a fountain. Videos broadcast on Japanese TV showed a crater in the taxiway roughly 20 feet in diameter and around 3 feet deep.

JAPANESE COURT ACQUITS LONGEST-SERVING DEATH ROW INMATE IN 1966 QUADRUPLE MURDER CASE

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said more than 80 flights were canceled at the international airport, which hopes to resume operations Thursday morning.

A number of unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. military during WWII have been unearthed in the area, Defense Ministry officials said.

Hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from the war remain buried around Japan, and are sometimes dug up at construction sites.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Tuesday that he was freed after years of incarceration because he "pled guilty to journalism."

In his first public remarks since he was released from prison in June, Assange gave evidence of the impact of his detention and conviction to the legal affairs and human rights committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The Parliamentary Assembly includes lawmakers from 46 European countries.

TREATMENT OF ASSANGE WAS A SHAMEFUL STAIN ON OUR FIRST AMENDMENT

A group of supporters, holding a banner that said "Thank you, Julian" greeted Assange as he stepped out of a van smiling and raising his fist in defiance along with his wife, Stella, and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, Kristinn Hrafnsson.

"Assange is free! We are here. The world is with you," one supporter shouted before Assange entered the Council of Europe building early Tuesday.

"I am not free today because the system worked," Assange said. "I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism."

He added: "I pled guilty to seeking information from a source. I pled guilty to obtaining information from a source. And I pled guilty to informing the public what that information was."

Assange was released in June after five years in a British prison after he pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concluded a drawn-out legal saga. Prior to his time in prison, he had spent seven years in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he claimed asylum on the grounds of political persecution.

The transition from years in a maximum security prison to addressing the European parliamentarians has been a "profound and a surreal shift," Assange said as he detailed the experience of isolation in a small cell.

"It strips away one's sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence," he said, his voice cracking while he offered an apology for his "faltering words" and an "unpolished presentation."

"I’m not yet fully equipped to speak about what I have endured — the relentless struggle to stay alive, both physically and mentally," Assange said.

The Australian internet publisher was accused of receiving and publishing hundreds of thousands of war logs and diplomatic cables that included details of U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. His activities were celebrated by press freedom advocates, who heralded his role in bringing to light military conduct that might otherwise have been concealed.

Among the files published by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

Critics say his conduct put American national security and innocent lives — such as people who provided information to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan — at risk, and strayed far beyond the bounds of traditional journalism duties.

The yearslong case ended with Assange entering his plea in a U.S. district court on the Northern Mariana Islands, an American commonwealth in the Pacific.

Assange pleaded guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information. A judge sentenced him to the five years he had already spent behind bars in the U.K. fighting extradition to the United States.

Assange returned to Australia a free man in late June. At the time his wife, Stella, said he needed time to recuperate before speaking publicly.

His appearance on Tuesday comes after the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly published a report on Assange's detention in a high-security U.K. prison for five years.

The assembly's human rights committee said Assange qualified as a political prisoner and issued a draft resolution expressing deep concern at his harsh treatment.

China is marking the 75th year of Communist Party rule as economic challenges and security threats linger over the massive state.

No festivities have been announced for the 75th anniversary on Tuesday, save for a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square, with an honor guard marching from the entrance of the sprawling palace that in past centuries was the home of Chinese emperors.

The entirely state-controlled media ran constant reports on China's economic progress and social stability, with no mention of challenges ranging from a declining birth rate to the disruption in supply chains that has harmed the largely export-driven economy.

TRUMP-ENDORSED HOUSE CANDIDATE SOUNDS ALARM ON CHINA'S GROWING INFLUENCE IN BATTLEGROUND STATE

Commemorations were also held in the former British colony of Hong Kong and Portugal's former territory of Macao, both of which returned to Chinese sovereignty in the late 1990s in a key indication of Beijing's determination to overcome what it has called a "Century of Humiliation."

In recent decades, China has mounted military parades and displays of the country's economic might only at the turn of decades, such as for the 60th and 70th anniversaries.

The world’s second largest economy has struggled to regain momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A prolonged property slump led to a spillover effect on other parts of the economy, from construction to sales of home appliances. Last week, China announced a slew of measures to boost the economy, including lower interest rates and smaller down payment requirements for mortgages.

Party leader and head of state Xi Jinping has largely avoided overseas travel since the pandemic, while continuing with his purges at home of top officials considered insufficiently loyal or being suspected of corruption or personal indiscretions.

"The road ahead will not be smooth, there will definitely be difficulties and obstacles, and we may encounter major tests such as high winds and rough seas, or even stormy waves," Xi warned during a banquet on the eve of the anniversary.

"We must be vigilant in times of peace, plan ahead, and rely closely on the entire Party, the entire army, and people of all ethnic groups across the country" he said, "no difficulties can stop the Chinese people from moving forward."

The anniversary also comes as China is facing growing frictions with neighbors including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines over territorial claims and their close relationships with Beijing’s chief rival, the United States.

The Communists under Mao Zedong seized power in 1949 amid a civil war with the Nationalists, also known as the KMT, led by Chiang Kai-shek, who shifted their political, economic and military power to the now self-governing island democracy of Taiwan.

Beijing continues to insist Taiwan must be annexed under Communist Party rule, by force if necessary, while the U.S. has provided arms to ensure its defense.

China, meanwhile, has involved itself in disputes over its claims to most of the South China Sea and uninhabited islands held by Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and other neighboring nations.

China's military buildup and its recent launch of a nuclear capable ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean have raised concerns about a possible conflict.

At home, Xi has made himself effectively leader for life by ending term limits and extending his power over key government and party bodies. China allows no competitive elections and the party retains near total control over the media that informs its 1.4 billion people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Xi on the anniversary and the subsequent establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, noting that Russia was the first country to recognize the People’s Republic of China 75 years ago, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Xi reaffirmed their close ties, saying China would continue to expand "all-round pragmatic cooperation" between the two nations.

The U.S. Navy has released video showing the fiery launch of ballistic missile interceptors from two guided-missile destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean to defend Israel from an Iranian missile barrage on Tuesday.

The USS Cole and USS Bulkeley fired about a dozen interceptors as Iran bombarded Israel with nearly 200 ballistic missiles in the regime’s latest attack on the Jewish State, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday.

"You don’t launch that many missiles at a target without the intent on hitting something," Ryder said.

Capt. Bill Urban, lead spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa, told Fox News in a statement on Wednesday that "multiple" Iranian missiles were believed to have been "successfully engaged."

US READINESS PLAYS ‘SIGNIFICANT’ ROLE IN FENDING OFF IRANIAN ATTACK ON ISRAEL

Both destroyers, which were stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean ahead of the Iranian barrage, are equipped with the aegis weapons system designed for ballistic missile defense, Urban said.

Three U.S. guided-missile destroyers have been positioned off the Eastern Mediterranean to help defend Israel, including the USS Arleigh Burke, USS Bulkeley and USS Cole.

In April, during the last major attack that Iran levied at Israel when it fired more than 300 drones and missiles, the USS Arleigh Burke and the USS Carney shot down more than 81 attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles using guided-missile destroyers.

IRAN FIRES MULTIPLE MISSILE STRIKES ACROSS ISRAEL

U.S. Central Command has about twice as many aircraft, ships and missile defense systems in the region than it did in April. Additional air squadrons and air support crews deployed to the region on Tuesday arrived Wednesday while others are still en route, a U.S. defense official told Fox News.

As the Iranian attack against Israel unfolded on Tuesday, a U.S. defense official told Fox News in a statement: "[In] accordance with our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, U.S. forces in the region are currently defending against Iranian-launched missiles targeting Israel."

"Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect U.S. forces operating in the region," the official added.

Fox News’ Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Wednesday following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, but overshadowing the meeting was Israel's announcement that it had banned the U.N. secretary-general due to his failure to condemn Iran. 

"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said about the decision to declare U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as persona non grata. 

"This is an anti-Israel secretary-general who lends support to terrorists, rapists and murderers," Katz argued. "Guterres will be remembered as a stain on the history of the U.N. for generations to come."

Iran on Tuesday fired over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel after the death of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and after the Israel Defense Forces began focused incursions into Lebanon to hit the terrorist group.

ISRAEL URGES UN TO CONDEMN IRAN AFTER LATESTS ATTACKS

Guterres on Tuesday issued a brief statement following Iran’s attack, calling it the "latest attacks in the Middle East" and broadly condemned the conflict as "escalation after escalation." 

He also slammed Israel for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, claiming that Israel has "conducted in Gaza the most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years." 

"The suffering endured by the Palestinian people in Gaza is beyond imagination," Guterres said. "At the same time, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate, with Israeli military operations."

"Construction of settlements, evictions, land grabs and the intensification of settler attacks progressively undermine any possibility of a two-state solution, and simultaneously, armed Palestinian groups have also used violence," he said. 

HAMAS LEADER KILLED IN LEBANON WAS UN EMPLOYEE, AGENCY CONFIRMS

Israel blasted Guterres for failing to "unequivocally" condemn Iran’s attack or even name Iran while discussing the attack. Israel responded with the persona non grata declaration, effectively banning him from entering its borders.

"Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran's heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil," Katz said. 

"This is a secretary-general who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on Oct. 7 and has not led any resolutions to declare them a terrorist organization," Katz continued.

"A secretary-general who provides support to the terrorists, rapists and murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran, the mothership of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the U.N. for generations to come," he added. "Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres."

BBC NEWS SPURS OUTRAGE AFTER COMMENTATOR DEFENDS HEZBOLLAH, IRAN: ‘OPENLY PRO-TERRORIST’

And while it took nearly a day following the attacks to condemn Iran, Guterres seemed to get the message, telling council members: "As I did in relation to the Iranian attack in April – and as should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed – I again strongly condemn yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel."

Israel’s decision to ban Guterres prompted anger from Algeria, which first expressed "sincere gratitude… solidarity, admiration and support for the secretary-general." 

"This decision reflects a clear disdain of the U.N. system and the entire international community," the representative from Algeria said. "For the Israeli authorities, no narrative nor truth exists except their own."

However, some permanent members of the council expressed clear support for Israel and condemned Iran for the attack while urging Tehran to cease its support for terrorism through its proxy forces. 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield "unequivocally" condemned Iran’s attack and called for further sanctions against Tehran. She also explicitly tied Iran to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, arguing that "Iran was complicit… through its funding, training, capabilities and support for the military wing of Hamas."

ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS REGULAR INFANTRY, ARMORED UNITS JOINING LIMITED GROUND OPERATION IN SOUTHERN LEBANON

"After Hamas's horrific attack carried out nearly a year ago today, the United States sent a clear message to Iran: Don't exploit the situation in ways that would risk propelling the region into a broader war," Thomas-Greenfield said. 

"The IRGC flagrantly and repeatedly ignored this warning by encouraging and enabling the Houthis in Yemen to disrupt global shipping and launch attacks against Israel by supporting militant groups in Syria and Iraq," she continued. 

"Iran's stated intention was to avenge the deaths of two IRGC-supported terrorist leaders and an IRGC commander by inflicting significant damage and death in Israel," she added. "Thankfully, and through close coordination between the United States and Israel, Iran failed to achieve its objectives."

"This outcome does not diminish the fact that this attack, intended to cause significant death and destruction, marked a significant escalation by Iran," she stressed.

The United Kingdom also condemned Iran’s attack and expressed "full support" for Israel "in exercising its right to defend itself against Iranian aggression." 

France urged Iran to "abstain from any action that could lead to additional destabilization," going further to condemn the "attack that targeted civilians in Jaffa." 

"Civilian populations are the first victims of this horrible situation," the French representative said. "The situation is serious." 

Iran ultimately pleaded its case before the council, arguing that the Security Council has "remained paralyzed due to the United States obstruction" and accused permanent members France and the United Kingdom of acing as "serious enablers" of Israel who "attempt to justify Israeli heinous crimes under the guise of self-defense, shifting the blame onto Iran." 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ongoing ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that his country is in the "middle of a tough war against Iran's axis of evil."

The Israeli Defense Forces announced that Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, Captain Harel Etinger, 23, Captain Itai Ariel Giat, 23, Sergeant First Class Noam Barzilay, 22, Sergeant First Class Or Mantzur, 21, Sergeant First Class Nazaar Itkin, 21, Staff Sergeant Almken Terefe, 21 and Staff Sergeant Ido Broyer, 21 "fell during combat in southern Lebanon." 

"I would like to send my deepest condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a video message. "May God avenge their death. May their memory be of blessing." 

"We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran's axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us. This will not happen -- because we will stand together, and with God's help -- we will win together," Netanyahu added. "We will return our hostages in the south, we will return our residents in the north, we will guarantee the eternity of Israel." 

ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS REGULAR INFANTRY, ARMORED UNITS JOINING LIMITED GROUND OPERATION IN SOUTHERN LEBANON 

Details about the incidents resulting in the deaths of the soldiers were not immediately available. 

IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned residents of two dozen communities in southern Lebanon to evacuate Wednesday for their own safety. 

IRAN’S ATTACK ON ISRAEL ‘INEFFECTIVE’ BUT A ‘SIGNIFICANT ESCALATION,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS 

"Hezbollah's activities are forcing the IDF to act forcefully against it. The IDF does not intend to harm you, and therefore, for your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and head north of the Awali River. Save your lives," he said on X. 

"Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, installations, and combat equipment is putting his life at risk. Any home used by Hezbollah for its military needs is expected to be targeted," Adraee also said. 

The Israeli military operation inside Lebanon comes after airstrikes last week killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top members. 

The IDF says so far, more than 150 "terrorist infrastructure sites" have been destroyed in Lebanon, including Hezbollah weapon storage facilities and rocket launchers. 

Fox News' Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report. 

The restoration of the Temple of Edfu has revealed ancient Egyptian paintings dating back thousands of years. 

The Temple of Edfu is dedicated to the worship of the god Horus, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The temple on the western bank of the Nile was begun during the reign of Ptolemy III and finished under Ptolemy XII, according to the source. It was constructed between 237 and 57 B.C. 

In far more recent years, restoration efforts have been underway at the temple, conducted in a collaboration between Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Germany's University of Würzburg. 

IRISH FARMER FINDS NEAR 60-POUND SLAB OF ANCIENT BOG BUTTER ON HIS LAND BY ‘PURE LUCK’

Egyptian temples have long been known to have once been glistening with gold and vivid colors. During the restoration of the Temple of Edfu, remains of ancient artwork have been discovered. 

Reliefs (a type of sculpting in Ancient Egypt) and paintings were cleaned up by a team of conservators under the leadership of Ahmed Abdel Naby, according to the September 2024 press release. 

Dust, bird droppings and soot were carefully removed from sandstone reliefs, where remains of ancient artwork began to peer through. 

MOM, SON DIG UP ANCIENT OBJECT OFTEN FOUND NEAR BURIAL GROUNDS WHILE GARDENING

The discovery of these remains is a rare find, as in the majority of ancient Egyptian temples, painting is preserved very minimally or not at all, according to the press release from the University of Würzburg. 

Gold leaf decorations were also found in the temple, another rare find in Egyptian temples, "due to their fragility," according to the press release. At the Temple of Edfu, most of the gold decorations were discovered in the higher walls of the temple. 

"The gilding of the figures presumably not only served to symbolically immortalize and deify them but also contributed to the mystical aura of the room," Victoria Altmann-Wendling, the project manager, said in the release. "It must have been very impressive, especially when the sunlight was shining in."

"The fact that the gods were completely gilded is particularly interesting. We find this in the textual sources that describe the flesh of the gods as consisting of gold," Altmann-Wendling said, per the press release. 

In addition, there was also dipinti found at the temple, which is graffiti painted in ink, according to the press release. It was written in Demotic script, and serves as "direct testimony of the priest entering the temple." 

The Mexican army has seized the weapons of local police in the cartel-dominated city of Culiacan in the country’s northwest Sinaloa state as violence and gunfights have ravaged the city in recent weeks, reports said this week.

Following the seizures, the roughly 1,000-strong police force was pulled off the streets by the state's governor, Ruben Rocha, noting they will not be reinstated until their weapons are returned. 

But the move came just one day after some 1,500 residents of Culiacan hit the streets in a massive protest over the gang violence – which has led to the deaths of dozens in recent weeks – demanding peace in the capital city.

INFAMOUS MEXICAN CARTEL LEADER `EL MAYO' ZAMBADA PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING, MURDER CHARGES

Soldiers, state police and national guard units have instead been called in to stand in the place of the local police while the army runs checks on weaponry serial numbers and validates permits. 

Rocha claimed the checks were "exceptional" and said he hopes the non-routine procedures "will end soon."

But, according to The Associated Press, the Mexican army in the past has seized weapons from distrusted police forces it suspected of either being involved in aiding the cartel, or over concerns the units were carrying unregistered arms that made abuses harder to trace. 

Violent clashes between cartel groups broke out in the Sinaloa region after drug lords Ismael Zambada, also known as "El Mayo," and Joaquín Guzmán López were apprehended in the U.S. on July 25 after flying in on a small plane. 

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT BUSES MIGRANTS TO US BORDER AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BECOMES TOP ELECTION ISSUE

But claims later surfaced that Zambada was forced to board the plane after being abducted by Guzmán López, who also goes by "El Chapo" – prompting violent battles between the gang groups dubbed the "Chapitos" and the "Mayitos."

The cartel violence has led to open gunfights across Culiacan, including in the downtown area as well as upscale neighborhoods, causing parents to question the safety of sending their children to school.

"There are two groups that are confronting each other here," Rocha said. "The authorities are here to face them down equally, both of them without exceptions."

But the fighting has become so extreme that cartel gunmen have begun hijacking buses and trucks before setting them ablaze to serve as highway blockades on routes leading in and out of the city – one such blockade that Rocha also got stuck behind on his way to meet with former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in late September. 

The governor on Monday pledged to set up five "anti-blockade squads" though he warned that ultimately they will not be able to stop the hijackings until the cartel groups cease their fighting.

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the heads of the country's security establishment on Wednesday following Iran's firing of 181 missiles into Israel amid fears that a lethal regional war is around the corner.

Fox News Digital spoke to military and Iran experts about the growing chance of a wider confrontation between the Jewish state and the clerical regime in Tehran breaking out.

"After the Iranian missile attack against Israel there is no questioning anymore the basic understanding that Iran is the greatest generator of terror and death in the Middle East. Until now, Israel has been playing a whack-a-mole game with Iran’s proxies – fighting Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and others," Yaakov Katz, the author of "Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power," told Fox News Digital.

ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER TELLS US ONLY ‘MILITARY ACTION’ CAN RETURN PEOPLE TO HOMES AMID HEZBOLLAH THREAT

Katz, who is a senior fellow at the global think tank Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), added, "With Iran again attacking Israel directly, the time has come to take the fight directly to Iran. The ayatollahs there need to be made to pay a price."

The headline by military analyst Amos Harel in the left-wing Haaretz paper read on Wednesday: "After an unprecedented Iranian attack, we are in a regional war." 

The Islamic republic has been recognized as the center of Mideast volatility, terrorism and jingoism for decades. In 2010, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah told the United States to "cut off the head of the snake" by launching military strikes to eradicate Iran’s reported nuclear weapons facilities.

Iran’s strikes on Israel forced nearly 10 million people to find safety in bomb shelters on Tuesday. The barrage of aerial warfare was the first time in Israeli history that the country’s densely populated cities – Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – in the center of the biblical nation, faced such devastating attacks. The Israelis did not panic and stayed relatively calm under the pressure of the largely surprise attack.

The only fatality from the Iranian barrage was the murder of a Palestinian man in the West Bank (known in Israel by its biblical regional name of Judea and Samaria).

"Tonight Iran attempted to kill thousands of Israeli men, women and children but thanks to our miraculous defense system Iran failed miserably. Tehran is hurting after seeing its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen get crushed by Israel. Tehran made a huge mistake tonight and will pay a heavy price at the time and place of our choosing," Lt. Col. Yoni Chetboun, former deputy speaker of the Knesset and an IDF special forces operator in reserves, told Fox News Digital.

IRAN'S 'NUCLEAR ENERGY MOUNTAIN' IS 'FULLY SAFE' AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE: STATE MEDIA

Chetboun was a decorated special forces operator from the second Lebanon war, when Israel fought the Iran-backed terrorist movement Hezbollah in 2006.

Prior to Iran’s military strike on Israel in April, Fox News Digital reported that the Biden-Harris administration released billions in sanctions relief to Iran that will flow into its proxies' war machines, according to experts. 

The topic of funneling billions to Iran’s regime surfaced during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday. Republican Sen. JD Vance said, "Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration.

"What do they use that money for? They use it to buy weapons that they're now launching against our allies. And God forbid, launching against the United States as well."

BIDEN ADMIN UNDER PRESSURE TO STOP BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SANCTIONS RELIEF TO IRAN

Lisa Daftari, an expert on Iran, said, "The conflict between the Iran regime and Israel did not commence today, in April, or on Oct. 7 of the previous year. Its origins trace back to 1979, when the mullahs ascended to power, promulgating a doctrine that demonized the ‘Great Satan,’ a term for the United States, and the ‘Little Satan,’ referring to Israel. 

"Over the past 45 years, the Iran regime has persistently targeted American and Israeli interests, orchestrating terror proxies to execute its strategic objectives against both nations. More recently, U.S. policies that have enriched the mullahs have facilitated billions of dollars on establishing a formidable encirclement around Israel, via the regime's various proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza and the West Bank."

In April, Iran’s regime launched a sprawling aerial attack, with over 300 suicide drones and missiles, on Israel. Jerusalem countered the Iranian swarm of missiles with a targeted strike against military installations in the Iranian province of Isfahan.

Daftari, editor-in-chief of the Foreign Desk news website, added, "Israel's recent military actions signal a departure from the more restrained posture observed in April, when the nation's defense capabilities against missile threats were deemed a victory. The recent strategic strikes in Lebanon underscore Israel's heightened efforts to neutralize enduring existential threats."

She noted that it historically has engaged in tit-for-tat-like responses but noted, "Israel is now poised to take decisive measures aimed at neutralizing this looming risk, with its focus now entirely on the regime in Tehran."

NETANYAHU CALLS MIDEAST CONFLICTS CHOICE BETWEEN 'BLESSING OR A CURSE,' WARNS ABOUT ISRAEL'S 'LONG ARM'

David Wurmser, a former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, told Fox News Digital, "This is a war between Israel and Iran which began as a direct war on April 14. The war is a twilight struggle between a nation run by a tyranny that seeks to extinguish the other. Either Iran or Israel, but not both, will emerge from this war not only as victor but survivor."

He said the so-called "ring of fire that Iran built around Israel not only had an aggressive aim – to choke Israel to death by initiating a violent war of attrition and isolation, including closing ports and ending international airlines' flying to Israel – but also acted as a defensive deterrent against Israel, shielding Iran from any potential Israeli proactive action against Iran. With the destruction of Hezbollah, the strategic linchpin of the proxy network at the center of that ring of fire, as the greatest threat Israel faces, Iran was left fully exposed to the full weight of Israeli power."

He echoed the strong language of Israel’s military and political leadership, which "promised to inflict severe pain on the regime of the Iran's supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei… Iran will surely now feel the vulnerability as the Israelis without fear any more of Hezbollah or Iran will take the war from the defensive to the offensive against Iran’s regime, " said Wurmser.

He added "The mistake Iran made, as do its proxies and its minions in the West protesting on campuses, is not that they underestimate Israel’s capabilities and its unity, but that they internalized their own ideology that Israel is a fake, fragile colonial entity rather than a deeply rooted civilization. Israel has shown that despite its mistakes and setbacks, its internal strength transcend that of any of their neighbors."

A mother who was "murdered while shielding her 9-month-old son" has been identified by Israel as one of the victims of yesterday’s terrorist attack at a train station outside of Tel Aviv. 

Israel says the actions of Inbar Segev-Vigder in Jaffa on Tuesday "saved" the life of her child Ari. 

"There are no words. Only heartbreak," Israel posted on X. "May the memory of the victims be a blessing." 

Israeli police said Wednesday that a total of seven people were killed in a shooting that unfolded just minutes before Iran started launching ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the recent killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. 

ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS REGULAR INFANTRY, ARMORED UNITS JOINING LIMITED GROUND OPERATION IN SOUTHERN LEBANON 

Two Palestinian men from the Israeli-occupied West Bank town of Hebron opened fire, including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a station. 

The suspects — who police say had no prior arrests, although one had been involved in disturbing the peace at a demonstration — were later shot and killed by security guards and armed pedestrians, according to The Associated Press. Police and paramedics who responded to the scene treated another 16 people injured from the shooting. 

Segev-Vigder lived in Tel Aviv and operated a fitness and Pilates studio, while her husband, Yaari Vigder, is an Israeli reservist soldier, The Jerusalem Post reports. 

"Ari was in a carrier that covered Inbar's entire upper body during the attack, he was not injured at all," the website cited Yaari Vigder as telling Israel’s Channel 11 news. 

"For the rest of his life -- may he feel the same love he received from Inbar," he reportedly added. 

ISRAELI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAMS FLEE GAME AFTER IRANIAN MISSILE STRIKES 

A witness told Ynetnews that the 33-year-old mother was gunned down while stepping off a train in Jaffa, according to The Jerusalem Post. 

The website identified four other victims as Revital Bronstein, 24, Shahar Goldman, 30, Nadia Sokolenko, 40, and Ilya Nozadze, 42. 

Sokolenko's family told Israel's TPS news agency that they were waiting for her to return home from grocery shopping Tuesday night and her friends started checking area hospitals after her phone stopped answering calls. 

Sokolenko, a native of Moldova who worked as an office manager, was described by friends as "a very creative person and very caring mom" of a 6-year-old daughter, TPS added.

Greece’s foreign ministry also said Wednesday that a Greek national who lived in Jerusalem was among the dead. 

The motive for the shooting is unclear. 

Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X in the wake of the attack that "I will now demand in the cabinet discussion that the family members of the abominable terrorists from Hebron who carried out the heinous attack in Jaffa be deported to Gaza tonight and their homes should be turned into ruins for them to see and see." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Israeli military announced Wednesday that regular infantry and armored units were joining what it described as its limited and localized ground operations in southern Lebanon.

This comes after Israel said Tuesday that commando and paratroop units had crossed the border in a ground operation in Lebanon, according to Reuters.

The military said that special forces units had been conducting ground raids against Hezbollah terror targets across the border for months in which tunnels and weapons were found under homes.

IDF MEETS LITTLE RESISTANCE FROM HEZBOLLAH AFTER WEEKS OF HITTING TERROR TARGETS, OFFICIALS SAY

The infantry and armored troops from the 36th Division include the Golani Brigade, the 188th Armored Brigade and the 6th Infantry Brigade.

The military adding these troops suggests that the ground operation in Lebanon has exceeded limited commando raids.

ISRAELI MINISTERS FRUSTRATED OVER US, IDF LEAK ON LEBANON OPERATION: REPORT

The ground operation is largely designed to destroy tunnels and other infrastructure on the Israel-Lebanon border, according to Israel's military, adding that there were no plans to widen its operation to target Beirut or major cities in southern Lebanon.

Reuters contributed to this report.