Israeli military launches ground invasion, targets Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

Israel’s widely expected ground invasion of Lebanon appeared to be getting underway early on Tuesday as its military said troops had begun “limited” raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Telegram that its targets were located in villages close to the border that posed “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.” It said the air force and artillery were supporting ground forces with “precise strikes.”

“The IDF is continuing to operate to achieve the goals of the war and is doing everything necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and return the citizens of northern Israel to their homes,” the statement said.

Local residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and the sound of helicopters and drones overhead.

A Lebanese security source told Reuters Monday that troops had pulled back from positions along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel to about five kilometres north of the border.

Amal Al-Hourani, mayor of Jdeidet Marjayoun, a Christian-majority Lebanese village less than 10 kilometres from the border, told Reuters that two locals had received calls apparently from the Israeli army telling them to evacuate the area.

About 60,000 people have been evacuated from northern Israel because of near-daily attacks by the Iran-backed group that began after Hamas-led militants from Gaza launched a deadly attack on southern Israel nearly a year ago.

The Israeli military declared the areas around the communities of Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon as a closed military zone and said entry was prohibited.

Israel launches ‘limited’ ground incursion in Lebanon

The Israeli military has confirmed the start of a ‘limited’ ground incursion into Lebanon near the borders as residents brace for disaster and world leaders call for a ceasefire.

The ground invasion follows Israel’s deadly detonation of booby-trapped Hezbollah pagers and two weeks of airstrikes, including one on Friday that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, one of the heaviest blows to the group in decades.

The intensive airstrikes have eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also killed about 1,000 civilians and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.

Overnight, strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, a security source said. A Reuters reporter witnessed a flash of light and a series of loud blasts about an hour after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate areas near buildings it said contained Hezbollah infrastructure south of the capital.

In the past 24 hours, at least 95 people had been killed and 172 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon’s southern regions, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut, Lebanon’s health ministry said early Tuesday.

Strikes target Syria, Palestinian camp in Lebanon

An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, according to two Palestinian security officials. His fate was unknown.

The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources said. It marked the first strike on Lebanon’s largest Palestinian camp since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago.

It marked the first strike on the largest of several Palestinian camps in Lebanon since cross-border hostilities broke out nearly a year ago.

Meanwhile, three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital of Damascus, Syrian state media said early on Tuesday, citing a military source.

Syrian state television earlier said that one of its presenters was killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus. It was unclear whether the presenter was among the three civilians mentioned by state media.

Syrian air defences intercepted “hostile targets” over the vicinity of Damascus three times in a row in one night, following explosions that were heard in the capital, state media said.

When asked about the reported attack, the Israeli military said it does not comment on foreign media reports.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, but has ramped up such raids since last year’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.

Biden questioned about possibility of limited Israeli operation into Lebanon

U.S. President Joe Biden, who held a press briefing about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Monday, took a question about escalating tensions in the Middle East and the possibility that Israel’s military might launch a limited operation inside Lebanon.

Canadians told to leave Lebanon

Nasrallah’s killing, along with the series of attacks against the group’s communications devices, constitute the biggest blow to Hezbollah since Iran created it in 1982 to fight Israel.

Airstrikes have also killed around 1,000 Lebanese and forced one million to flee their homes, according to officials in Lebanon. On the weekend, the UN high commissioner for refugees said more than 200,000 have been displaced inside the country.

Global Affairs Canada last week said two Canadians had died in Lebanon amid the hostilities. Global Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has also said Ottawa is booking seats on commercial flights to help Canadians get out of Lebanon.

In a Monday statement on social media, Joly said Canada has secured an additional 800 seats over the next three days.

“If you are a Canadian citizen in Lebanon, you must leave now,” the post read. “If you are offered a seat, take it now.”

Israel had told the United States about a number of operations, the State Department said on Monday.

When asked if he knew anything about plans for a “limited operation into Lebanon,” U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said, “I am more aware than you might know and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now.”

The Pentagon said Monday the U.S. is sending a “few thousand” troops to the Middle East to bolster security and to defend Israel if necessary. The additional forces would raise the total number of troops in the region to as many as 43,000.

Hezbollah says it’s ready for land invasion

Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, said on Monday his group would appoint a new leader at the earliest opportunity to replace Nasrallah and vowed that the Iran-backed organization would continue fighting Israel.

“The Islamic resistance will continue to confront the Israeli enemy in support of Gaza and Palestine, in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to assassinations and the killing of civilians,” he said.

Qassem said Hezbollah’s fighters had continued to fire rockets as deep as 150 kilometres into Israeli territory and were ready to face any possible Israeli ground incursion.

France, Britain, UN urge restraint

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had urged Israel on Monday not to undertake any ground invasion of Lebanon, saying France will step up its support for the Lebanese army.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire amid reports of a potential escalation in the Israel-Lebanon conflict, after discussing the matter with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken via phone on Monday.

“We both agreed the position that we had at the UN last week that the best way forward is an immediate ceasefire and to get back to a political solution,” Lammy told Sky News.

Israel last week rejected a proposal by the U.S. and France calling for a 21-day ceasefire to give time for a diplomatic settlement that would allow displaced civilians on both sides to return home.

In the early hours of Monday, an Israeli strike in central Beirut claimed the lives of three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small leftist faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

When a CBC News crew visited the site in the Kola district, debris and personal belongings were strewn around an underpass across the street from the apartment building that was hit. Part of the sidewalk appeared to be smeared with blood.

Jamal Hussein, 66, a resident of the area, told CBC News that he heard the explosion overnight.

He said it’s been too loud to sleep, with Israeli airstrikes targeting the city night after night, and that he is frustrated with the recent escalation of hostilities.

The area, which is predominantly Sunni, is usually busy, but the military was keeping people out Monday.

The building that was hit had clear structural damage, and some locals said they were told that there was still an unexploded missile inside. In mid-afternoon, a drone could be seen flying high overhead.

Hamas commander killed in Monday strike

In the southern coastal city of Tyre, Monday’s early morning strikes also killed a Hamas commander who had worked for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, The Associated Press reported.

Hamas confirmed Fatah Sharif Abu Al-Amine was killed along with his wife, son and daughter in an airstrike on Al-Buss refugee camp, one of 12 dedicated to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted him.

UNRWA said Sharif had been suspended since allegations of his ties to Hamas emerged in March. The agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said he learned then that Sharif had been a “member of the political party of Hamas” and decided to suspend him and launch an investigation. He said he hadn’t heard Sharif might be a Hamas commander until Monday.

“So, he was suspended, had no function, was not paid and was under investigation,” Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva. “We are still an agency with due process.”

How might an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon unfold? | About That

As tensions grow along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, a top Israeli military official says troops are preparing for a potential ground invasion targeting Hezbollah military outposts. Andrew Chang explains what a full-scale invasion would look like and why many world leaders are fearing the worst.Images supplied by Getty Images and Reuters.