Israel launches ‘limited’ ground operations in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army entered Lebanon. Israel announced on Tuesday, October 1, that ground troops had crossed the border to fight Hezbollah in villages in southern Lebanon, despite international calls for de-escalation. After the devastating blow inflicted on the Shiite armed group with the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike near Beirut, Israeli leaders warned that the war was not over.

The Israeli army specified in a statement that these ground operations which began Monday evening were “limited” And “localized” and that they aimed “terrorist targets and infrastructure” of Hezbollah. The army, however, did not specify the number of soldiers involved in this incursion. “These targets are located in villages near the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel”she assured. The Israeli army has been carrying out intense and deadly bombings on Lebanon for several days.

According to a Lebanese official speaking on condition of anonymity, Israel launched at least six new strikes on south Beirut overnight, after the Israeli army ordered residents to evacuate. An official at a Palestinian camp in Sidon, southern Lebanon, told AFP that a raid had targeted Mounir Maqdah, whom Israel accuses of leading the Lebanese branch of the armed wing of the Palestinian Fatah movement. It was not immediately clear whether Mounir Maqdah was in the house.

In a statement published on X, the American Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin, said he was convinced, like Israel, of the “need to dismantle infrastructure” of Hezbollah in order to ensure that the Lebanese movement “cannot carry out attacks like those of October 7 against communities in northern Israel”. A “diplomatic resolution is necessary” to ensure the safety of civilians “on both sides of the border”also reaffirmed the head of the Pentagon. On Monday, President Joe Biden suggested he was opposed to Israeli ground operations, calling for a ceasefire.