Israel ramps up military activity in Lebanon, conducting air strikes and limited incursions. The IDF targets Hezbollah positions as the threat of a full ground offensive looms. Over 1,000 casualties reported in Lebanon amid escalating conflict.
Israeli defence forces have been making tentative incursions into Lebanon. At this time, it is thought the moves are intelligence-driven. However, the prospect of a full ground offensive is rising. Significantly, Monday saw the first Israeli air strike on central Beirut since the 2006 war.
Israel has conducted limited ground incursions into Lebanon. At the same time, it carried out an air strike on central Beirut on Monday for the first time in almost two decades.
Certainly, three people familiar with the situation said Israeli forces had carried out small-scale operations across the border. Significantly, it comes as the country expands its offensive against its adversaries in the region.
However, one of the people emphasised the incursions had been limited in scale. In short, they targeted the artillery positions of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, and other infrastructure near the border. Moreover,the operations also aimed at gathering intelligence ahead of a potentially bigger operation.
Israeli military leaders have raised the prospect of a ground offensive into Lebanon in recent weeks. In addition, they have mobilised at least two brigades on the northern border.
Military spokesperson comments on ground operations
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would use “all the means at our disposal” against Hezbollah. Afterwards, he visited troops on the border on Monday.
“The forces are ready and prepared to strike,” Gallant posted on X. Meanwhile, Hezbollah also vowed to continue the conflict.
Nevertheless, a military spokesperson said no ground operation had started. At length, he added that the Israel Defense Forces did not comment on special operations.
It is not the first time Israeli forces have conducted operations on the Lebanese side of the border since the start of the war. Previously, in April, four Israeli soldiers were injured while carrying out an operation inside Lebanese territory.
Casualties mount amid ongoing airstrikes
Israel’s assault has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon during the past two weeks. Indeed, this includes more than 100 on Sunday alone. In the meantime, up to 1 million people have been displaced, according to officials in the country.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah dead in another coup for Israel defence forces in their war on Hezbollah
Furthermore, Monday saw the first strike within Beirut’s city limits since Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah. Three leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were killed. The attack occurred in an apartment building in the Kola bridge area early on Monday morning.
Videos from central Beirut showed rubble strewn across a busy street. Ambulances raced to the scene after the attack, which appeared to target a specific apartment.
Continued strikes on Hezbollah targets
Days of strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs have killed dozens of top Hezbollah commanders. This includes its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Israel continued to launch attacks overnight on Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said on Monday that the group would not stop its fight against Israel.
“Despite the loss of some leaders . . . we will continue to confront the Israeli enemy in support of Palestine and in defence of Lebanon,” he said in a public address. Qassem added that the group would pick a new secretary-general “as soon as possible.”
“If the Israelis want a ground incursion, the resistance forces are ready for that,” he said. “We are ready. We depend on God almighty, and we will be victorious.”
Israeli strikes target Hamas leader in Lebanon
The IDF on Monday added that it had killed Fateh Sherif, a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Lebanon. Afterwards, they claimed Sherif had been responsible for coordinating with Hezbollah.
Hamas confirmed that Sherif had been killed in an Israeli strike. It happened in a Palestinian refugee camp near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
Calls for de-escalation amid rising tensions
Despite calls by the US and other western powers for Israel to de-escalate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the offensive against Hezbollah and its allies will continue. This will remain until more than 60,000 people displaced from Israel’s north by a year of cross-border fire can return home.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday that his country was willing to accept a nearly 20-year-old UN resolution. This resolution demands, among other conditions, that Hezbollah pull 30 kilometres back from the border with Israel. This intervention seemed aimed at keeping the door open for a diplomatic solution.
Mikati stated that the state was doing its utmost to deal with what he called the “largest displacement in the region, in Lebanon and even in history.”
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