As some media have interpreted this, it is unclear whether this marks the first small and limited ground operations on the Lebanese side of the border. According to US media reports, Israel is planning a limited ground offensive in Lebanon. It will begin within hours, the Washington Post and CBS reported, citing a US government official. US President Joe Biden did not directly confirm the reports in an exchange with journalists.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli special forces had already made small, targeted advances in southern Lebanon. According to an unconfirmed report, the purpose of the developments was to prepare for a possible ground attack.
Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari warned against spreading “irresponsible rumours” on the X platform. There is a lot of information and rumors about military operations on the Lebanese border. For security reasons, people are asked not to spread news about troop movements and stick to official communications, Hagari said.
According to information from Lebanese security circles on Monday evening, there are no Israeli tanks near the common border, at least for now. The German Press Agency learned from security sources in Lebanon that Israeli tanks had not yet approached the so-called Blue Line.
At the same time, heavy attacks by the Israeli army were said to have taken place near the Litani River, about 30 kilometers north of the border. Israeli warplanes were heard in southern Lebanon.
Several areas of northern Israel were declared off-limits military zones on Monday evening. A military spokesman was not allowed to enter these areas on orders from the Northern Command of Israeli troops. These are areas near the Lebanese border near Medula, Miskau Am and Kafar Giladi.
An army spokesman had earlier spoken of the exercises as part of the troops’ increased combat readiness. In the afternoon, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the next phase of the fight against Hezbollah would begin soon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet also met on Monday.
The nearly year-long conflict between Israel and the Shia group Hezbollah has intensified recently. The Israeli army has been carrying out massive attacks in Lebanon for several days. Hundreds of people were killed. Israel previously declared another goal of the Gaza war to be the return of refugee Israelis to their hometowns in the north of the country.
Hezbollah has been firing hundreds of rockets at Israel every day since the renewed fierce fighting. After the Gaza war broke out, the militants opened up its so-called “solidarity front” and fired thousands of rockets at Israel. She doesn’t want to lay down her arms until the war in Gaza is over.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese have fled their villages and cities. Many are waiting in the capital, Beirut, sleeping on mattresses on the Mediterranean city’s seaside sidewalks for lack of shelter. The latest escalation could bring back memories of the last war between Israel and Hezbollah 18 years ago for the country’s nearly nine million residents.
Gallant mentioned a possible ground operation in Lebanon on Monday. The killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is an important step, but not everything, Gallant said during a visit to troops on the northern border. “We will use all our skills.”
The aim is to repatriate 60,000 Israelis displaced from the border areas by months of Hezbollah attacks. They are prepared to “make every effort” to achieve this and deploy troops in the air, at sea and on the ground.
For the first time since Nasrallah’s death, the Islamist militant leadership has spoken out and declared its readiness to fight. “We know the struggle will be long and are ready for all possibilities,” Hezbollah Vice President Naim Qasim said in a televised address. “If Israel decides to launch a ground attack: we are ready.” He did not say who would lead Hezbollah.
On Friday, the Israeli army killed the secretary general of Iran-backed Hezbollah south of the Lebanese capital Beirut. Many other members of the leadership were also killed. Nevertheless, Hezbollah has recently continued its attacks on Israel.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian emergency in Lebanon is worsening. According to the United Nations, around 100,000 people have already fled to Syria since the massive Israeli airstrikes began. According to the UN in Geneva, 60 percent of the refugees in Lebanon are Syrians and 40 percent are Lebanese. The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the people of Iran in a video message. He insisted that there was no place in the Middle East that his country could not reach. Referring to the targeted killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, he said, “Ask Mohammed Taif. Ask Nasrallah.” There is no place Israel will not go to “protect our people and our land”. The government in Tehran is bringing the Iranian people “closer to the underworld” every day.
At the same time, Netanyahu found conciliatory words for Iranians hoping for a power transition in Tehran: “When Iran is finally free – when the moment is closer than people think – everything will be different,” he promised. “The two ancient peoples, the Jew and the Persian, will finally be at peace.”
Hezbollah and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip belong to a network known as the “Axis of Resistance,” which is backed by the leadership in Tehran in its fight against arch-enemy Israel.
