JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon early Tuesday, marking a significant escalation of attacks against Hezbollah militants and opening a new front in Jerusalem. a year long war against Iranian-backed adversaries.
The invasion came after weeks of heavy Israeli attacks. hezbollah — including the airstrike that killed its longtime leader. Hassan Nasrallah And it is seeking to increase pressure on the group, which began firing rockets into northern Israel after the start of the war in Gaza. The last ground war between Israel and Hezbollah lasted a month. 2006 war.
The Israeli military announced in a brief statement that it had launched “limited, localized and targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
“These targets are located in villages near the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,” it said.
There is no word on how long the operation will last, but the military said soldiers have been training and preparing for the mission in recent months. Israel said it would continue attacking the group until Israelis evacuated from border areas can safely return to their homes.
Prior to Israel’s announcement, U.S. officials said Israel had launched small-scale ground raids inside Lebanon, and Israel had declared three small border communities “closed military zones,” restricted to military personnel only. It was announced that it would be restricted.
There were no reports of direct clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants. However, throughout the evening Israeli artillery units shelled targets in southern Lebanon and the sounds of airstrikes could be heard throughout Beirut.
Smoke rose from the southern outskirts of the capital, where Hezbollah is strong, shortly after Israel ordered residents of three buildings to evacuate.
Israel enters dangerous fighting phase
Emboldened by recent battlefield victories against Hezbollah, Israel appears poised to deal a decisive blow to its arch-enemy. But ground operations represent a new and potentially dangerous phase of combat. It also threatens to wreak further destruction in Lebanon, where recent Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Hezbollah is a well-trained militia believed to have tens of thousands of fighters and 150,000 rockets and missiles. The last battle in 2006 ended in a stalemate.
Both sides have spent the past 20 years preparing for their next showdown. While Hezbollah has built a formidable arsenal, Israel has invested billions in training and intelligence gathering.
Recent airstrikes have wiped out most of Hezbollah’s top leadership; Explosion of hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies Its membership in Hezbollah indicates that Israel has penetrated deep into the group’s upper echelons.
Hezbollah vowed on Monday to continue fighting after its recent defeat. The group’s acting leader, Naim Qasem, said in a televised statement that Hezbollah was ready for ground operations. He said the commanders killed in recent weeks had already been replaced.
The person widely expected to take over the top post from Qasem is Nasrallah’s cousin Hashem Saffieddin, who oversees Hezbollah’s political affairs.
Israel shifts attention from Gaza to Lebanon
An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires artillery shells into Lebanon from northern Israel at a position near the Israel-Lebanon border on September 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Buzz Ratner)
Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks have hit what the military says are thousands of militant targets across much of Lebanon. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry.
Three Palestinian militants were killed in an airstrike on a residential building in central Beirut in the early hours of Monday, as Israel appeared to send a message that no part of Lebanon was off limits.
Israel declared war on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7 last year killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with just over half of the dead being women and children, according to local health officials.
Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8 in solidarity with Palestinian militants.
Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily, coming close to a full-scale war several times, only to retreat from the brink.
But as Israel’s war against Hamas winds down in recent weeks, it has turned its focus north to Lebanon and stepped up attacks on Hezbollah.
Israeli leaders say they want Hezbollah to implement the U.S. resolution that ended the war in 2006, calling on it to withdraw about 30 kilometers from the Israeli border.
Major setbacks for Hezbollah
Police and civil defense personnel inspect a damaged car near a building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, September 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussain)
Hezbollah has suffered significant setbacks in recent weeks. Before Nasrallah’s assassination, a series of mysterious pager and walkie-talkie explosions blamed on Israel killed and injured hundreds of people, many of them Hezbollah members. Israeli airstrikes killed most of the group’s senior leaders.
But Hezbollah continues to fire rockets and missiles at Israel, and is believed to still have thousands of fighters near the Israeli border.
Israeli leaders have long accused Hezbollah of hiding weapons and fighters in homes and other civilian facilities in border villages. Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled southern Lebanon in recent weeks, fearing an onslaught by Israeli forces.
Hezbollah has few air defenses, allowing the Israeli Air Force to operate freely over Lebanon. However, ground operations would be much more difficult as Hezbollah forces are embedded in local communities and familiar with the local terrain.
Still, Hezbollah’s capabilities remain uncertain. Hezbollah may be holding back in order to conserve resources for a larger battle. But extremist groups may also be in turmoil following the apparent infiltration of Israeli intelligence at the highest levels.
Some European countries began withdrawing their diplomats and nationals from Lebanon on Monday. Germany sent military aircraft to evacuate the diplomat’s relatives and others. Bulgaria sent a government plane to evacuate the first group of citizens.
Israel has a long and bloody history in Lebanon. It was briefly invaded in 1978 in an attack against Palestinian militants. It invaded again in 1982 and occupied southern Lebanon for 18 years.
Escalating action against Hezbollah could also raise the risk of a broader regional war, as Israel faces a range of adversaries backed by arch-rival Iran.
Israel carried out airstrikes against Houthi militias in Yemen this week in response to a series of missile attacks. Prime Minister Netanyahu also threatened Iran, warning Tehran that Israel could attack anywhere in the Middle East.
The United States and its allies have called for a ceasefire, hoping to draw Iran in and avoid further escalation that could spark a wider war. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed little interesthis country racking up military gains against a long-time enemy.
France, which has close ties to Lebanon, joins the United States. while calling for a ceasefire. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault, who is visiting Beirut on Monday, urged Israel to refrain from ground attacks.
Barot also called on Hezbollah to stop firing on Israel, saying that Hezbollah “has a heavy responsibility in the current situation, having chosen to participate in the conflict.”
After his meeting with Barot, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that Lebanon would seek an immediate ceasefire and the subsequent deployment of Lebanese troops to the south, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war but never ended it. He said he is working on it. Fully implemented.
AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports on what appears to be an Israeli attack on central Beirut. The other is near Sidon, Lebanon. First statement from Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General. and the continued efforts of Filipino rescue workers to help residents affected by heavy rains.
___
Mr. Sewell reported from Beirut and Mr. Lee from Washington.
