Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, October 1, 2024.
Reuters
'Limited' raids against Hezbollah have begun, says Israeli army
Air strikes have killed about 1,000 civilians, forced 1 million to flee their homes, says Lebanese government
Israel's widely expected ground offensive of Lebanon appeared to be getting underway early on Tuesday.
Its military said in a statement that it had begun "limited, localized, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence" against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon villages close to the border.
It said the air force and artillery were supporting the ground forces with "precise strikes."
Shelling along Lebanese border
Local residents in the Lebanese border town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and the sound of helicopters and drones overhead. Flares were repeatedly launched over the Lebanese border town of Rmeish, lighting up the night sky.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told local council heads in northern Israel that the next phase of the war along Lebanon's southern border would begin soon.
The ground invasion represents an escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran-backed militants.
Syrian refugees, who fled from southern Lebanon villages due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, take shelter in a parking lot in Sidon, Lebanon September 30, 2024.Reuters
Strike hits refugee camp
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 Brigade, 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 the camp, Lebanon's largest Palestinian camp, since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago.
More attacks on Syria
In Syria, three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the capital Damascus, Syrian state media said on Tuesday citing a military source. Israel's military said it does not comment on foreign media reports.
Several Hezbollah commanders killed
Israel's ground invasion into Lebanon follows its deadly detonation of booby-trapped Hezbollah pagers, two weeks of airstrikes, and its killing on Friday of Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah, which dealt the group one of the heaviest blows in decades.
The intensive air strikes 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 Lebanese capital.
Hezbollah vows to continue resistance
Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem, in a first public speech on Monday since Nasrallah's death, said that "the resistance forces are ready for a ground engagement."
He said Hezbollah had continued to fire rockets as deep as 150 km (93 miles) into Israeli territory.
"We know that the battle may be long. We will win as we won in the liberation of 2006," he said, referring to the last big conflict between the two foes.
Lebanese troops pull back
Late on Monday, Lebanese troops pulled back about five kilometres (3 miles) from positions along Lebanon's southern border with Israel, a Lebanese security source told Reuters. A Lebanese army spokesperson did not confirm or deny the movement.
Lebanon's army has historically stayed on the sidelines of major conflicts with Israel, and in the last year of hostilities has not fired on the Israeli military.
Biden calls for cease-fire
The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Israel's ground operations in Lebanon.
Nukta.com
But on Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden had called for a cease-fire.
"I'm more worried than you might know and I'm comfortable with them stopping," Biden told reporters when asked if he was comfortable with Israeli plans for a cross-border incursion. "We should have a cease-fire now."
Israel last week rejected a proposal by the U.S. and France calling for a 21-day ceasefire on the Lebanon border to give time for a diplomatic settlement that would allow displaced civilians on both sides to return home.
Comments
See what people are discussing