Jerusalem:
The Israeli army said on Tuesday that troops have launched “ground attacks” in villages in southern Lebanon, after the militant group Hezbollah said it had attacked “enemy soldiers” on the country’s border.
A Lebanese security official said Israel had also carried out at least six attacks on southern Beirut after the Israeli army ordered residents of the Hezbollah stronghold to evacuate.
Despite international calls for de-escalation, Israel previously vowed to continue the fight against Hezbollah and closed part of the border after killing the leader of the Iran-backed group.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that the fight was not over, even after the massive attack on Beirut that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday and dealt the group a seismic blow.
The military said troops, backed by airstrikes and artillery, launched ground attacks against the militant group Hezbollah “in villages close to the border” “a few hours ago.”
Israel has informed its main arms supplier Washington of the raids, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
US President Joe Biden indicated earlier on Monday that he was against an Israeli ground operation.
“We must reach a ceasefire now,” he said.
Hezbollah fighters were “ready if Israel decides to enter by land,” the group’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said in a first televised address since Nasrallah’s death.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it had “targeted” Israeli forces carrying out “movements” in orchards near the border, with a source close to the group saying the soldiers were “right on the border”.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah following the Israeli army’s announcement of the ground attacks, but the group’s al-Manar television reported the Israeli statement announcing the raids on its Telegram channel.
The Lebanese National Army, dwarfed by Hezbollah’s military might, was “repositioning” troops further from the border, a military official told AFP.
World leaders have urged de-escalation, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric saying: “We don’t want any kind of ground invasion.”
– Hezbollah ‘targets’ troops –
Earlier this month, Israel launched a wave of deadly airstrikes targeting Hezbollah across Lebanon, the latest of which killed 95 people on Monday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
On Monday evening, the Israeli army called on people in three districts in southern Beirut to evacuate.
“You are near interests and facilities of the terrorist group Hezbollah,” said Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
“For your safety and the safety of your family members, please evacuate the premises immediately and stay away from the area.”
AFP correspondents in the capital heard explosions and saw a flash around the ground.
As Israel announced its ground strikes, Syria’s official news agency SANA said the country’s air defense systems intercepted “enemy targets” in the Damascus area.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of attacks on Syria in recent years.
– ‘Everyone is afraid’ –
He said Nasrallah’s killing was “an important step, but not the last.”
Hezbollah began low-intensity attacks on Israeli forces a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, prompting Israel’s devastating assault on the Gaza Strip.
Border conflicts escalated rapidly this month.
On Monday, the Israeli army declared part of the border strip a ‘closed military zone’.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon over the past week have killed hundreds of people and forced up to a million to flee their homes, according to Lebanese officials.
Hezbollah and other groups launched rockets, drones and some missiles at Israel during the same period, causing some injuries but no deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran, which backs Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed groups, of “plunging our region deeper… into war.”
“There is no point in the Middle East that Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu warned.
Iran has said the assassination of Nasrallah would bring about the “destruction” of Israel, although the State Department said on Monday that Tehran would not deploy fighters to confront Israel.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for a ceasefire based on a recent US-French proposal, urging “an end to Israeli aggression against Lebanon”.
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli attack hit a building in central Beirut, with an armed Palestinian group claiming to have killed three of its members.
The strike, the first in the city center in years, led to panic.
Central Beirut resident Kahier Bannout, 42, said it should be “a safe area, not a war zone.”
“Everyone is scared.”
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than a thousand people have been killed since September 17.
Filippo Grandi, head of the UN refugee agency, said: “More than 200,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon,” while more than 100,000 people have fled to neighboring Syria.
– ‘Little time’ –
France said on Monday evening it would send a navy ship to Lebanon as a “precautionary measure” in case it decided to evacuate French citizens.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, the first high-level diplomat to visit Beirut since Israeli attacks intensified, said there was still hope for a ceasefire but time was short.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said diplomacy is the best path forward for the region.
Washington “will continue to work toward a diplomatic resolution” for the Israel-Lebanon border, as well as an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, he said.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt tried for months to broker such a deal, which Netanyahu’s domestic critics accused him of obstructing.
In Gaza, AFP journalists said the number of Israeli airstrikes has dropped significantly in recent days.
A report published Monday by the United Nations Satellite Center found that “two-thirds of the total buildings in the Gaza Strip have suffered damage” in almost a year of war.
Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official figures, including hostages who died in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,615 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-held territory. The UN has described the figures as reliable.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)