Israel begins attack on Lebanon with 'limited' attack on Hezbollah By Reuters
Written by Timour Azhari
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Israel's expected offensive in Lebanon looked set to continue on Tuesday as the army said troops had begun attacking Hezbollah along the border.
The army said in a statement that it had launched “limited, localized, and targeted attacks based on specific information” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon's villages near the border “which pose a threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel”.
It said the air force and artillery were supporting ground forces with “direct strikes.”
Residents of the border area of the Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab reported heavy explosions and the sound of helicopters and drones overhead. Fireworks were launched repeatedly over the Lebanese border town of Rmeish, lighting up the night sky.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told heads of councils in northern Israel that the next phase of the war along Lebanon's southern border will begin soon, and will support the goal of repatriating Israelis who fled Hezbollah rockets within the year. border war.
The global attack symbolizes the growing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran-backed militias that was triggered by the deadly attack of the Palestinian group Hamas in Israel almost a year ago and now threatens to suck in the US and Iran.
This follows Israel's bombing of trapped Hezbollah operatives, two weeks of airstrikes, and Friday's assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group's worst attacks in decades.
Heavy airstrikes killed several Hezbollah commanders but also killed about 1,000 civilians and forced a million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
At night, strikes hit areas south of Beirut, a security source said, a Reuters reporter saw a flash of light and a series of loud explosions about an hour after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate areas near buildings it says have Hezbollah infrastructure in the south of the city. The capital of Lebanon.
In the past 24 hours, at least 95 people were killed and 172 injured in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.
Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem, in his first speech on Monday since Nasrallah's death, said “the opposition forces are ready to negotiate.”
He said Hezbollah continued to fire rockets 150 kilometers (93 miles) deep into Israeli territory.
“We know that the war may be long. We will win as we won with independence in 2006,” he said, referring to the last major conflict between the two enemies.
By late Monday, the Lebanese army had retreated about five kilometers from areas along Lebanon's southern border with Israel, a Lebanese security source told Reuters. A spokesman for the Lebanese army did not confirm or deny the move.
It is history that the Lebanese army stayed away from major conflicts with Israel, and last year the war did not fire on the Israeli soldiers.
The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Israel's operations in Lebanon.
But on Monday, US President Joe Biden called for a ceasefire.
“I'm more concerned than you know and I'm relieved if they stop,” Biden told reporters when asked if he was comfortable with Israel's plans to enter the border. “We must lay down our weapons now.”
Israel last week rejected a proposal by the US and France to impose a 21-day freeze on the Lebanese border to allow time for a negotiated settlement that would allow displaced citizens on both sides to return home.
