Israel’s military has said that its forces have entered Lebanon on Tuesday in “a limited ground operation” marking an escalation of its offensive against Hezbollah militants.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that it had begun “limited, localized, and targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure.
The IDF killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last week and Israel bombed Lebanon as it seeks to eradicate the Iranian-backed group, sparking concerns of a wider regional conflict. Newsweek has contacted the IDF by email for comment.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburb early on October 1, 2024. The Israeli military said Tuesday troops have started “targeted ground raids” in villages of southern Lebanon.
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What We Know
The IDF said in a statement on X that a political decision had been made to target Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon “based on precise intelligence.”
It added that Operation “Northern Arrows” will continue “according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas” as the statement reiterated one of its goals to “return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes.”
The IDF called for people in living in more than two-dozen villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately and move to the north of the Al-Awali River, which is around 30 miles inside the country.
While the IDF announced the “limited” ground operation on Tuesday, its spokesman Daniel Hagari said that Israeli forces have been operating inside Lebanon dozens of times over the past months where they had destroyed tunnels.
Amid spiraling hostilities, Hezbollah said it had targeted Metula, in northern Israel, twice this morning hours with artillery and rocket fire, and that they had successfully hit their target. The group said that the attack was “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people” in Gaza, and “in defense of Lebanon and its people.”
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes continued to target Beirut Tuesday, with the IDF saying that “several” weapons manufacturing sites and Hezbollah infrastructure had been hit in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut regarded as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that around 1 million people have been displaced across Lebanon since the start of Israeli airstrikes last month and that his country is facing “one of the most dangerous phases” in its history.
The destruction is seen at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 1, 2024. Israel’s military says it has entered southern Lebanon in its fight against Hezbollah.
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What We Don’t Know
Israel’s claims mark the fourth time that its soldiers have publicly entered Lebanese soil in nearly 50 years, and the first since Israel’s 34-day war in the country in 2006.
However, Israel has not provided many details of its operation on Tuesday such as where exactly the incursion happened along the 75-mile border and its end game is unclear.
A senior security official told the BBC that Israeli ground forces has only gone as far as “very close walking distance” into Lebanon and so far there have been “no clashes.”
Also, Hezbollah has denied that Israeli troops had advanced into Lebanese territory at all, saying in a statement that Israel’s claims are false.
“All Zionist claims that occupation forces entered Lebanon are false,” Hezbollah media relations official Muhammad Afif said on Tuesday in comments reported by Al Jazeera.
Afif added that Hezbollah is ready for a “direct confrontation” if Israeli troops “dared to enter Lebanese territory.”
What is also unclear are what Israel’s objectives are with the operation. Israeli officials have said there will be “no long-term occupation” but have not specified how long it will last.
U.S. officials, quoted by NBC News, said they expect the operation to last for days, not weeks, and that its geographic reach would be “limited.”
