Iran says twin bomb blasts killed at least 95 people at an event honoring a prominent Iranian general slain in a U.S. airstrike in 2020. Iranian state media called the attack, which wounded more than 200, “terroristic.” No one has immediately claimed responsibility for what appears to be the deadliest militant attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. The blasts on Wednesday struck an event marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq. He was the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. The explosions minutes apart occurred near his grave in Kerman.

Critics say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasingly using his perch as wartime leader to improve his political fortunes. Netanyahu has long been polarizing. He's served longer than any other Israeli leader, after 17 years in power. Since sinking in opinion polls in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Netanyahu has been taking steps that show he's looking for political redemption. He's been conducting political messaging, trying to appease his coalition partners and shirking responsibility for the Hamas attack. Netanyahu’s backers say has long been unfairly demonized and that engaging in politics amid war is unavoidable.

An apparent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed the second-highest ranking political leader of Hamas, marking a potential escalation in the Middle East conflict. Saleh Arouri was the most senior figure in the group killed since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly three months ago. His killing risks provoking major retaliation from Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia. Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire almost daily over the Israeli-Lebanese border since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began. So far, the Lebanese group has appeared reluctant to dramatically escalate the fighting. A significant response now could send the conflict spiraling into all-out war on Israel’s northern border.

The Israeli military says thousands of soldiers are being shifted out of the Gaza Strip. It is the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began. But forces continue to bear down on other parts of the embattled territory, especially the south. Israel has been under pressure from its chief ally, the United States, to begin to switch to lower-intensity fighting. Army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari did not say whether the decision meant Israel was launching a new phase of the war. Fierce fighting continued Monday in other areas of Gaza, especially the southern city Khan Younis and central areas of the territory.

Japan has dropped its highest-level tsunami alert, issued following a series of major earthquakes on Monday. But it is telling residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come. The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. It is unclear how many people may have been killed or hurt. Authorities said people are trapped in buildings that collapsed in the quake and a fire has broken out in the city of Wajima.