The Israeli army announced on the night of Monday to Tuesday that it had started “localized ground raids” in villages in southern Lebanon, despite international calls for de-escalation. It claims to target the Islamist movement Hezbollah.
After the devastating blow inflicted on Hezbollah with the assassination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday in an Israeli strike near Beirut, Israeli leaders warned that the war was not yet over against the pro-Iranian movement, Israel’s enemy. .
The Israeli army has been carrying out intense and deadly bombings on Lebanon for several days. According to a Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, Israel launched at least six new strikes on south Beirut overnight, after the Israeli army ordered residents to evacuate. the places.
“Limited, localized and targeted”
Israeli forces “began limited, localized and targeted ground raids a few hours ago, based on precise intelligence, against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon,” the army said on Telegram to 01:00 Tuesday (Swiss time).
“These targets are located in villages near the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,” she said. The United States had announced a few hours earlier “limited” Israeli ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In Washington, President Joe Biden suggested he was opposed to Israeli ground operations, calling for a ceasefire.
Following the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7 on Israeli soil, which triggered the war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah opened a front against Israel in support of its ally.
No occupation of Lebanon
The armed forces “operate according to a methodical plan […] for which the civil defense soldiers have trained and prepared in recent months,” explained the Israeli army, specifying that the aviation and artillery supported the ground forces with precise strikes.
An official at a Palestinian camp in Sidon, southern Lebanon, said an Israeli strike there targeted the home of a man Israel accuses of leading the Lebanese branch of the armed wing of the Palestinian Fatah movement. .
“The Israeli raid targeted the house of Mounir Maqdah’s son,” in the Ain al-Helweh camp, said the official, who requested anonymity. It was not immediately clear whether Mounir Maqdah was in the house.
The Israeli army, in its press release announcing the ground operations, emphasizes that it is doing “whatever is necessary to defend the citizens of Israel and bring the citizens of northern Israel back to their homes.”
The American site Axios indicated that according to Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the operation was “not aimed at occupying southern Lebanon”.
Hezbollah “ready”
Hezbollah fighters are “ready if Israel decides to enter the ground”, declared Monday the group’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, in a first televised address since the death of Hassan Nasrallah. “Israel has not been able to undermine our military capabilities,” he said, affirming that his party would continue its fight against Israel “in support of Gaza.”
In a statement released overnight, Hezbollah said it had “targeted” Israeli troops “moving” in orchards near the border, with a source close to the group saying the soldiers were “right on the border.” .
Hezbollah had no immediate comment after the Israeli military announced the ground raids, but the group’s al-Manar TV reported the Israeli statement announcing the raids on its Telegram channel.
The Lebanese army, overwhelmed by the military power of Hezbollah, is in the process of “repositioning” its troops further from the border, a military official told AFP.
According to Syrian state media, Israeli strikes also targeted the Damascus region during the night. The official Sana news agency reported three civilians killed and nine others injured in the raids.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
