Israel reports eight combat deaths as it presses forward on two fronts

Soldiers carry the coffin of Israeli Army Captain Eitan Yitzhak Oster, who was killed in action in Lebanon (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Israel pressed forward on two fronts on Wednesday, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah that left eight Israeli soldiers dead and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children.

It comes after Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and the Hamas militants who run the Gaza Strip, launched dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday night, another escalation in a tit-for-tat cycle that is pushing the Middle East closer to a regional war.