JERUSALEM (AP) — With Israel’s defense minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before.

Israel said a “new era” of war was beginning Wednesday, tacitly acknowledging its role in shock twin attacks targeting Hezbollah that have pushed the Middle East back to the brink of wider conflict. Almost exactly 24 hours after explosions targeting the pagers of Hezbollah members killed multiple people,