In Lebanon, Israel announces launch of “limited” land operations near the border

INTERNATIONAL – The beginnings of a large-scale attack? Israel announced this Monday, September 30, to launch land operations “ limited » targeting Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon, the US State Department said.

“They informed us of a number of operations. They have told us so far that these are limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border, but we continue to talk about it.”State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.

He refused to provide details of these conversations, leaving Israel “ the care to speak of its military operations”. “We’ve had conversations with them about these operations, but the timing, the objective, the pace of these operations – let them talk”he said.

According to American officials interviewed by the Associated Press agency, these ground raids have already started. This was confirmed by Washington a few minutes later, indicating that Israel was leading ” Currently ” these attacks. This does not mean, however, that Israel is preparing a large-scale attack, which is feared by the international community.

Three closed military zones

The IDF also announced this Monday evening the establishment of a “ closed military zone » around three Israeli localities bordering Lebanon: Metula, Misgav Am et Kfar Giladi. “Entry into this area is prohibited”the army said in a statement.

The local channel al-Manar, affiliated with Hezbollah, announced “Zionist artillery fire” near the border villages of Wazzani, the Khiam Valley, Alma Al-Chaab and Naqoura, while the Lebanese national agency ANI reported “significant artillery fire against Wazzani”. In response, the Lebanese army indicated “ reposition and regroup its forces » on the southern border.

Earlier, President Joe Biden suggested Monday that he was opposed to Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, calling for a ceasefire in a moment of extreme tensions following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Washington welcomed the death of the Hezbollah leader, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken judging for example on Monday that the world was more “ sure without him »while calling for de-escalation and a diplomatic solution in Lebanon.

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