- The Israeli military said the operation was limited and localized
BEIRUT (Agencies): The Israeli military said early Tuesday that it had started a ground invasion of Lebanon in a long anticipated operation that leaders say will support the return of displaced Israelis to northern settlements.
Israel’s military said the operation in southern Lebanon was limited and localized and was based on precise intelligence against the Lebanese group Hezbollah, adding that the air force and artillery units were supporting ground troops.
The military said that its targets were in villages close to its border with Lebanon that pose “an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel.”
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire across the border for months, forcing many residents either side of it to flee or be evacuated from danger zones.
Lebanese residents in Aita al-Shaab reported heavy shelling and the sound of military aerial activity.
Lebanese authorities said that 95 people had been killed on Monday due to Israeli actions across the country.
Hezbollah said on Monday that it had carried out attacks against the Israeli military.
The Lebanese capital was again targeted by Israeli fire on Monday night as at least six strikes hit south Beirut. Residents received messages to evacuate target sites and many continue to sleep outside for safety or because they have nowhere else to go.
In Sidon, a strike targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Reuters reported citing two Palestinian security officials, and his fate was unknown early Tuesday.
The strike hit a building in the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the south of the city.
Earlier, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Israel informed the US about the raids, which he said were described as “limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.”
Before the Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon, a Western diplomat in Cairo whose country is directly involved in de-escalation efforts said Israel had shared its plans with the US and other Western allies, and conveyed the operation will “be limited.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s army is repositioning troops stationed on its southern border, a Lebanese military official told AFP.
The Lebanese army is “repositioning and regrouping forces” at the southern border following threats of an Israeli incursion, the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Britain and Canada announced on Monday plans to get their citizens out of Lebanon amid fears over a wider escalation that may involve Iranian intervention to support Hezbollah.