The Israeli military says it has begun a “limited, localized” ground operation against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
In posts shared on social media, the Israeli military said it was carrying out “targeted” ground raids in villages close to the Israeli border. The targets, it said, pose an “an immediate and real threat to Israeli communities on the northern border.”
It announced that the operation has been planned in recent months and was launched after approval by political leaders. The troop movement comes in the wake of days of Israeli airstrikes that killed the leader of Hezbollah and a number of the group’s commanders in Beirut.
“The ground forces are accompanied in an attack effort by the air force and artillery forces,” the statement said, “which attack military targets in the area in a coordinated effort with the ground forces fighters.”
Israel said its airstrike operation on Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, which it calls “Northern Arrows,” will also continue, “at the same time as the fighting in Gaza and other arenas.”
Israel expanded its airstrikes in Lebanon and beyond over the weekend, launching raids thousands of miles away on Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The strikes came amid growing concern that Israel’s nearly-yearlong war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon could spiral into a broad regional conflict, drawing in Iran and even the U.S. to back their respective allies.
Earlier on Monday, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that Israel had notified the U.S. that it intended to launch a limited ground incursion into Lebanon.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.