Israel begins 'targeted ground raids' on Hezbollah in Lebanon amid ceasefire calls | 10 updates

Israel's ground invasion in Lebanon: IDF said raids were carried out based on “precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets" in southern Lebanon.

Israel's ground invasion in Lebanon:: Israel announced on Monday night (local time) that it had begun “targeted ground raids” in southern Lebanon, as a further incursion in the country seemed imminent, despite international appeals for restraint.

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday. (AP Photo)

Israel Defence Forces said, in a statement posted on X, the raids were carried out based on “precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon".

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“These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,” it said.

Pentagon chief says US, Israel agree on 'dismantling attack infrastructure; on Lebanon border 

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin offered support to Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for “dismantling attack infrastructure” along the border with Lebanon.

Austin also issued a warning to Iran of “serious consequences” should it directly attack Israel in response, he said on social network X.

The raid is likely to further expand the campaign against the Iran-backed group following Israel’s killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. It comes even as the US, the European Union and Arab powers called for a cease-fire. Israel has shifted its focus to Lebanon with its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip at a standstill.

“The IDF is operating according to a methodical plan set out by the General Staff and the Northern Command which IDF soldiers have trained and prepared for in recent months. The Israeli Air Force and IDF Artillery are supporting the ground forces with precise strikes on military targets in the area,” the IDF statement further said.

The military added that the operations were approved and carried out “in accordance with the decision of the political echelon”. “Operation 'Northern Arrows' will continue according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas,” the IDF said.

Watch: Israeli tanks begins ground operation in south Lebanon

10 updates on Israel-Hezbollah war:

1. US President Joe Biden had called for a ceasefire in Lebanon on Monday, hours before the Israel invasion. The US has expected Israel to launch a limited ground incursion into Lebanon but said it has cautioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against a larger and longer-term operation that risks a direct confrontation with Iran, Bloomberg reported quoting a US official.
2. Earlier on Monday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant had told local council heads in northern Israel that the next phase of the war along Lebanon's southern border would begin soon.
3. Yoav Gallant added that the new operation would support the aim of bringing home Israelis who have fled Hezbollah rockets during nearly a year of border warfare.
4. Hassan Nasrallah - the chief of Iran-backed Hezbollah - was killed by Israel on Friday, dealing one of the heaviest blows in decades to both the militant group and its backer, Iran.
5. It followed two weeks of intensive airstrikes that have eliminated several Hezbollah commanders but also killed about 1,000 civilians and forced one million to flee their homes, according to the Lebanese government.
6. At least 95 people were killed and 172 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon's southern regions, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and Beirut in the past 24 hours, Lebanon's health ministry said on Tuesday.
7. The IDFalso declared three areas in northern Israel — Metula, Misgav Am and Kfar Giladi — as “closed military zones", another sign of a potential operation.
8. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported Israeli artillery shelling across the border.
9. Nasrallah’s deputy, Naim Qassem, said on Monday that the group remains ready to fight on the ground.
10. The Pentagon said the US is deploying a “few thousand” more troops to the Middle East to bolster its defence of Israel and deter an Iranian response, .

(With inputs from agencies)